title: The potential of stem cells in adult tissues representative of the three germ layers.
abstract: Mature adult tissues contain stem cells that express many genes normally associated with the early stage of embryonic development, when maintained in appropriate environments. Cells procured from adult tissues representative of the three germ layers (spinal cord, muscle, and lung), each exhibiting the potential to mature into cells representative of all three germ layers. Cells isolated from adult tissues of different germ layer origin were propagated as nonadherent clusters or spheres that were composed of heterogeneous populations of cells. When the clusters or spheres were dissociated, the cells had the ability to reform new, nonadherent spheres for several generations. When implanted in vivo, in association with biodegradable scaffolds, into immunodeficient mice, tissue containing cells characteristic of the three germ layers was generated. These findings suggest the existence of a population of stem cells in adult tissues that is quite different and distinct from embryonic stem cells that demonstrate a greater potency for differentiation across germ lines than previously believed. Such cells could potentially be as useful as embryonic stem cells in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Haruko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Obokata
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Westerman
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamato
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuneda
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Vacanti
mesh_terms: D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D002449:Cell Aggregation; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005855:Germ Layers / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C494174:Pou5f1 protein, mouse