Sherley James L
The Biological Engineering Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Stem Cells. 2002;20(6):561-72. doi: 10.1634/stemcells.20-6-561.
A singular challenge in stem cell research today is the expansion and propagation of functional adult stem cells. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which are immortal in culture, adult stem cells are notorious for the difficulty encountered when attempts are made to expand them in culture. One overlooked reason for this difficulty may be the inherent asymmetric cell kinetics of stem cells in postnatal somatic tissues. Senescence is the expected fate of a culture whose growth depends on adult stem cells that divide with asymmetric cell kinetics. Therefore, the bioengineering of strategies to expand adult stem cells in culture requires knowledge of cellular mechanisms that control asymmetric cell kinetics. The properties of several genes recently implicated to function in a cellular pathway(s) that regulates asymmetric cell kinetics are discussed. Understanding the function of these genes in asymmetric cell kinetics mechanisms may be the key that unlocks the adult stem cell expansion problem.
当今干细胞研究中的一个独特挑战是功能性成体干细胞的扩增与繁殖。与在培养中具有永生性的胚胎干细胞不同，成体干细胞在培养中进行扩增时面临的困难是出了名的。造成这种困难的一个被忽视的原因可能是出生后体细胞组织中干细胞固有的不对称细胞动力学。衰老对于那些生长依赖于以不对称细胞动力学进行分裂的成体干细胞的培养物来说是预期的命运。因此，在培养中扩增成体干细胞的策略的生物工程需要了解控制不对称细胞动力学的细胞机制。本文讨论了最近发现的几个基因的特性，这些基因在调节不对称细胞动力学的细胞途径中发挥作用。了解这些基因在不对称细胞动力学机制中的功能可能是解决成体干细胞扩增问题的关键。
