title: Cellular identity and lineage choice.
abstract: In multicellular organisms, cells usually respond to signals that they encounter in a manner that depends on their particular lineage 'identity'. In other words, cells that have identical genomes can respond in markedly different ways to the same stimulus, with the outcome being determined largely by the previous developmental history of the cell. This general observation implies that individual somatic cells retain a 'working memory' of their ancestry and that this epigenetic information can be passed through successive rounds of DNA replication and cell division. Here, I discuss whether recent advances in our knowledge of chromatin biology and gene silencing can provide new insights into how cell fate is chosen and maintained during development.
authors.affiliation: Lymphocyte Development Group, Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK. amanda.fisher@csc.mrc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Amanda G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002455:Cell Division; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000276:immunology*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000235:genetics*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000235:genetics; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000235:genetics; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D007136:Immunoglobulins