Alison M R, Islam S
Centre for Diabetes and Metabolic Medicine, St. Bartholomew's and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
J Pathol. 2009 Jan;217(2):144-60. doi: 10.1002/path.2498.
While cultured embryonic stem (ES) cells can be harvested in abundance and appear to be the most versatile of cells for regenerative medicine, adult stem cells also hold promise, but the identity and subsequent isolation of these comparatively rare cells remains problematic in most tissues, perhaps with the notable exception of the bone marrow. The ability to continuously self-renew and produce the differentiated progeny of the tissue of their location are their defining properties. Identifying surface molecules (markers) that would aid in stem cell isolation is a major goal. Considerable overlap exists between different putative organ-specific stem cells in their repertoire of gene expression, often related to self-renewal, cell survival and cell adhesion. More robust tests of 'stemness' are now being employed, using lineage-specific genetic marking and tracking to show production of long-lived clones and multipotentiality in vivo. Moreover, the characterization of normal stem cells in specific tissues may provide a dividend for the treatment of cancer. The successful treatment of neoplastic disease may well require the specific targeting of neoplastic stem cells, cells that may well have many of the characteristics of their normal counterparts.
虽然培养的胚胎干细胞可以大量获取，并且似乎是再生医学中最具通用性的细胞，但成体干细胞也具有潜力。然而，在大多数组织中，这些相对稀少的细胞的识别以及随后的分离仍然存在问题，骨髓可能是一个显著的例外。能够持续自我更新并产生其所在组织的分化后代是它们的定义性特性。识别有助于干细胞分离的表面分子（标志物）是一个主要目标。不同的假定器官特异性干细胞在其基因表达谱方面存在相当大的重叠，这通常与自我更新、细胞存活和细胞黏附有关。现在正在采用更强大的“干性”测试方法，利用谱系特异性基因标记和追踪来显示体内长寿克隆的产生和多能性。此外，特定组织中正常干细胞的特征描述可能会为癌症治疗带来益处。肿瘤性疾病的成功治疗很可能需要特异性靶向肿瘤干细胞，这些细胞很可能具有许多与其正常对应细胞相同的特征。
