[The differentiation potential of stem cells (the problem of plasticity)].
Numerous publications on the ability of adult stem cells to differentiate into the cells of various tissues, not always homodermic (stem cell flexibility), to contain serious methodic errors. The main flexibility phenomena, such as "transdifferentiation" of hemopoietic stem cells into hepatocytes, cardiomyocytes, beta-cells of islets of Langerhans, neurons etc., are caused not by a shift of the differentiation path, but by cell merging, resulting in appearance of hybrids with unusual markers of cells of non-hemopoietic origin. The second most frequent error is wrong identification of macrophages and lymphocytes, which are present in any tissue and have the donor's genotype in chimeras. Even when the cause of the error is unknown, the phenomenon of unusual cell formation is exclusively rare and never bears therapeutic potential. In general, it is at least too early to revise the main tenets of the stem cell doctrine. Embryonic stem cells are totipotent indeed; however, the time of their clinical use has not come yet. Attempts to induce their ordered differentiation keep on failing; they very often lead to formation of teratomas and, even if necessary cells such as hemopoietic stem cells are formed, they do not work after administration into an organism that has been exposed to radiation. Clinical use of embryonic stem cells do not seem possible in this decade.
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D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*