Extrinsic regulation of pluripotent stem cells.
During early mammalian development, as the pluripotent cells that give rise to all of the tissues of the body proliferate and expand in number, they pass through transition states marked by a stepwise restriction in developmental potential and by changes in the expression of key regulatory genes. Recent findings show that cultured stem-cell lines derived from different stages of mouse development can mimic these transition states. They further reveal that there is a high degree of heterogeneity and plasticity in pluripotent populations in vitro and that these properties are modulated by extrinsic signalling. Understanding the extrinsic control of plasticity will guide efforts to use human pluripotent stem cells in research and therapy.
Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA. pera@usc.edu
Martin F
MF
Pera
Patrick P L
PP
Tam
D000818:Animals; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D053605:Leukemia Inhibitory Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D053605:Leukemia Inhibitory Factor; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D051153:Wnt Proteins