Stem cell biology, hormone/matrix synergies and liver differentiation.
Extracellular matrix, in conjunction with hormones and growth factors, plays a profound role in regulating gene expression in liver and in all tissues. The availability of matrix components for liver cells in culture is having a major impact on our ability to study every aspect of gene expression. Its significance has been particularly profound in permitting cultures with partial restoration of transcription rates of tissue-specific mRNAs. However, the matrix reagents available to date are not so potent as the forms known to be present uniquely in the liver. Thus, there is a great need to purify and characterize these tissue-specific matrix components (e.g. heparin-PG) to enable the eventual production of them for general use by investigators. The use of matrix reagents and the eventual use of cultures of liver stem cells will begin a new era in the understanding of liver differentiation.
Reid
L M
LM
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006493:Heparin / Q000378:metabolism; D006728:Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*
D006728:Hormones; D006493:Heparin