Dürr Michael, Müller Albrecht M
Institut für Medizinische Strahlenkunde und Zellforschung, Universität Würzburg.
Med Klin (Munich). 2003 Dec 15;98 Suppl 2:3-6.
Common and defining properties of stem cells are their capacity for self-renewal and their potential for differentiation into multiple mature cell types. In contrast to embryonic stem cells, which are able to give rise to all cell types of the body, somatic stem cells have been regarded as being restricted in their differentiation potential.
Recent studies support the idea that somatic stem cells from adult tissues can also contribute to heterologous tissues, i.e., transdifferentiate to unrelated cell types. These claims contradict the central dogma of the unidirectionality of differentiation processes. This review discusses the developmental potential of somatic stem cells in the light of recent findings.
干细胞的共同特性和定义特性是其自我更新能力以及分化为多种成熟细胞类型的潜力。与能够产生身体所有细胞类型的胚胎干细胞不同，成体干细胞一直被认为其分化潜力有限。
最近的研究支持这样一种观点，即来自成体组织的成体干细胞也可以分化为异源组织，即转分化为不相关的细胞类型。这些说法与分化过程单向性的中心法则相矛盾。本综述根据最近的研究结果讨论了成体干细胞的发育潜力。
