Together, our results reinforce the idea that EMT and
stem cell factors work cooperatively in highly tumorigenic cancer subpopulations and raise interesting questions about their contribution to the increased metastatic capability observed in the cycling hypoxia - selected subpopulation.
Not exact matches
That made
working with the mini-brains expensive, given the high cost of the nutrients needed to cultivate human
stem cells in the lab, he says, as well as the expense of chemical growth
factors that guide the tissue to organize itself like a real brain.
Starting with procedures other research teams had previously
worked out to convert iPSCs into keratinocytes, Xu's team demonstrated that by carefully controlling the timing of the growth
factors the
cells received, they could force the iPSCs to generate large numbers of epithelial
stem cells.
Dr Peter Rugg - Gunn, senior author on the research paper and research group leader at the Babraham Institute explained: «This unanticipated connection between
stem cell factors and heterochromatin organisation is important because it tells us about how
stem cells work.
This post will focus on
work done with transcription
factors (for more information on using SCNT, see the «Induced Pluripotent
Stem Cells...» post).
While Dr. Yamanaka achieved his iPS breakthrough by introducing four
factors into adult
cells, we're now
working on new ways to transform adult
cells into
stem cells — such as with chemical compounds.
These proteins, called transcription
factors,
work by changing which genes are expressed in the
cell, turning off genes associated with skin
cells and turning on genes associated with
stem cells.
Our physicians and scientists are
working on a number of initiatives, including collecting blood and bone marrow from patients to better understand the causes of bone marrow failure syndromes and MDS; exploring possible genetic
factors that guide medical care; collecting blood and bone marrow to identify specific proteins that are faulty and how these defects relate to clinical complications and outcomes; and clinical trials to improve
stem cell transplants for disorders such as dyskeratosis congenita.
Our
work indicates that only a small fraction of the population resides at the top of the hierarchy, that lineage priming (co-expression of
stem cell and lineage specific genes) characterizes pluripotent
stem cell populations, and that extrinsic signaling pathways are upstream of transcription
factor networks that control pluripotency.
When these growth
factors, proteins, regenerative
cells, and
stem cells are injected into a damaged joint, they go to
work immediately.