Abstract: The field of stem cell research has grown tremendously in the last few years, sparked off by thought-provoking and unexpected results on the ability of adult stem cells to differentiate into specialized terminally differentiated cells in adult species. It was found that cells present in adult bone marrow were able to differentiate into various cell types in nonhematopoietic tissues including skeletal muscle1, liver2, vascular endothelial cells3, astroglia in the brain4 and bone5. In addition, stem cells residing in non-hematopoietic tissues were not solely committed progenitor cells for that specific tissue type, but could differentiate into other types of cells, as neural stem cells could adopt the phenotype of blood cells6 and skeletal myocytes7. This ability of stem cells to differentiate into lineages other than those apparently intended is termed plasticity or transdifferentiation. The results obtained so far hold the promise that stem cells can be used to repair damaged tissue, potentially providing a much needed additional treatment option for diseases characterized by cell loss such as heart failure, liver failure, diabetes mellitus and neurological diseases.
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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