Challenges in Studying Stem Cell Metabolism

The expanding field of stem cell metabolism has been supported by technical advances in metabolite profiling and novel functional analyses. While use of these methodologies has been fruitful, many challenges are posed by the intricacies of culturing stem cells in vitro, along with the distinctive scarcity of adult tissue stem cells and the complexities of their niches in vivo. This review provides an examination of the methodologies used to characterize stem cell metabolism, highlighting their utility while placing a sharper focus on their limitations and hurdles the field needs to overcome for the optimal study of stem cell metabolic networks. Metabolism is now appreciated as a regulator of stem cell activity. Here we discuss the methodologies, models, and challenges of studying stem cell metabolism. The need for further tool development to characterize stem cell metabolism within the niche and define causal relationships between metabolism and stem cell behavior is highlighted.