title: Plasticity of cell fate: insights from heterokaryons.
abstract: Experiments with somatic cell hybrids and stable heterokaryons have demonstrated that differentiated cells exhibit a remarkable capacity to change. Heterokaryons have been particularly useful in determining the extent to which the differentiated state of a cell is plastic. Cell fate can be altered by a change in the balance of positive and negative trans-acting regulators. Although a single regulator may be sufficient in certain environments to trigger a change in cell fate, that regulator may be ineffective in other cell contexts where it encounters a different composition of regulators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Blau
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Blakely
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D006801:Humans; D006822:Hybrid Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D018006:Myogenic Regulatory Factors / Q000235:genetics; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D018006:Myogenic Regulatory Factors