Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Nat Methods. 2011 Apr;8(4 Suppl):S36-40. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.1590.
Individual stem cells are functionally defined by their self-renewal and differentiation potential. Methods for clonal analysis are essential for understanding stem cells, particularly given the increasing evidence for stem-cell heterogeneity. Stem cells reside within complex microenvironments, making single-cell analysis particularly challenging. Furthermore, simultaneous molecular and functional characterization of single stem cells is not trivial. Here we explore clonal assays applied to stem cell biology and their use in understanding the cellular and molecular basis of stem-cell identity.
单个干细胞的自我更新和分化潜能决定了其功能。克隆分析方法对于理解干细胞至关重要，特别是鉴于越来越多的证据表明干细胞存在异质性。干细胞存在于复杂的微环境中，这使得单细胞分析特别具有挑战性。此外，对单个干细胞进行同时的分子和功能表征也并非易事。在这里，我们探讨了应用于干细胞生物学的克隆分析及其在理解干细胞特性的细胞和分子基础方面的用途。
