title: Rediscovering pluripotency: from teratocarcinomas to embryonic stem cells. Cardiff, 10-12 October 2011.
abstract: The pluripotent potential of embryonic stem cells has often seen them touted as the future of regenerative medicine. The road to any therapeutic success however, must stretch back to teratocarcinoma, the tumour from which pluripotent stem cells (embryonal carcinoma cells) were first derived. This 2011 meeting in Cardiff acted as a historical perspective from which the impact of embryonal carcinoma cell research on the present pluripotent stem cell landscape could be observed, with many of the early luminaries in this field still very active. The meeting addressed the genetic and epigenetic make-up of pluripotent stem cells, the mechanisms which control their fate, and their relationship to the early embryo proper. With each speaker tasked with revisiting previous questions, this meeting demonstrated how far has been travelled, yet how far is left to go.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Stem Cell Biology and the Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK. i.barbaric@sheffield.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Barbaric
authors.forename: Neil J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Harrison
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D054278:Embryonal Carcinoma Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000235:genetics; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018243:Teratocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; C486780:NANOG protein, human; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C494173:POU5F1 protein, human