Researchers mapped distinct bone marrow niche populations and their differentiation paths for the bone marrow factory that starts from mesenchymal stromal cells and ends with three types of cells — fat cells, bone-making cells and cartilage-making cells. Respectively, those cells are called adipocytes, osteoblasts and chondrocytes. This non-hematopoietic cell system is distinct from another production line in the bone marrow — the hematopoietic system — that makes red blood cells, blood-clotting cells and cells of the immune system.