Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technology, ITBA, the National Research Council, Milano, Italy,
Cytotechnology. 2001 Mar;35(2):137-43. doi: 10.1023/A:1017526408890.
Both embryonic and somatic stem cells have been studied in recent years with particular regard to their differentiation potential. In vitro studies allow a considerable amplification of such cells in culture as well as the induction of commitment in different directions under proper stimulating factors. Moreover, a surprising versatility has been discovered,which makes possible a ;reprogramming' of stem cells into a lineage pathway which may be completely different from the expected direction: for instance, a production of brain cells from blood progenitors has been obtained. It is thus possible to envisage methods of producing in culture sufficient amounts of stem cells, committed to a certain pathway, which can be transplanted in vivo to replace damaged tissues and organs.
近年来，人们对胚胎干细胞和体干细胞进行了研究，特别关注它们的分化潜力。体外研究允许在培养中对这些细胞进行大量扩增，并在适当的刺激因子下诱导向不同方向分化。此外，人们还发现了令人惊讶的多功能性，这使得有可能对干细胞进行“重编程”，使其进入一条可能与预期方向完全不同的谱系途径：例如，已经从血液祖细胞中获得了脑细胞的产生。因此，可以设想在培养中产生足够数量的、定向分化为特定途径的干细胞的方法，这些细胞可以被移植到体内，以替代受损的组织和器官。
