title: Stem cell enrichment approaches.
abstract: Adult somatic tissue, and the tumours that arise therein, are maintained by a small population of stem cells. In addition to the self-renewal potential and pluripotency, these stem cells express several phenotypic traits that can be used in isolation and enrichment strategies. Since most of the traits are not exclusive to the stem cells however, the resultant populations are typically heterogeneous and variable from one isolation to another. In this article, we review the strategies for isolation of stem cells, and the limitations thereof, with emphasis on mesenchymal tissue and bone tumours. The emerging evidence suggests that stem cell is not a distinct entity, but rather an indefinite state along a spectrum, characterized by phenotypic traits, epigenetic factors and the microenvironment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ont., Canada K1H 8L6.
authors.forename: Paul C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Shamini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Selvarajah
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bayani
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zielenska
authors.forename: Jeremy A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Squire
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology; D002469:Cell Separation; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*