Implications of 'postmodern biology' for pathology: the Cell Doctrine.
Recent insights regarding stem cells, repression and de-repression of gene expression, and the application of Complexity Theory to cell and molecular biology require a re-evaluation of many long-held dogmas regarding the nature of the human body in health and disease. Greater than expected cell plasticity, trafficking of cells between organs, 'cellular uncertainty', stochasticity of cell origins and fates, and a reconsideration of Cell Doctrine itself all logically follow from these observations and conceptual approaches. In this paper, these themes will be considered and some implications for the investigative pathologist will be explored.
Theise
Neil D
ND
Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY 10003, USA. ntheise@chpnet.org
D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D010336:Pathology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D035501:Uncertainty