24
April 2003
Stem cells: Stem cell doubts
Two papers in Nature a year ago raised doubts about the clinical potential of adult stem cells — as opposed to the more flexible fetal stem cells. Cultured adult stem cells were shown to take on the attributes of muscle and nerve cells by producing hybrid cells rather than by differentiation. Such cells carry twice the normal quota of DNA, which would be potentially harmful. Two papers published this week raise further doubts by showing that when transplanted stem cells repair liver damage in mice they are fusing with host cells, not generating new liver cells. In News and Views, Alexander Medvinsky and Austin Smith discuss why it can be difficult to determine whether tissue-specific cells arose from adult stem cells by differentiation or by fusion.
Cell fusion is the principal source of bone-marrow-derived hepatocytes
XIN WANG, HOLGER WILLENBRING, YASSMINE AKKARI, YUMI TORIMARU, MARK FOSTER, MUHSEN AL-DHALIMY, ERIC LAGASSE, MILTON FINEGOLD, SUSAN OLSON & MARKUS GROMPE
Nature 422, 897–901 (2003); doi:10.1038/nature01531
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Transplanted bone marrow regenerates liver by cell fusion
GEORGE VASSILOPOULOS, PEI-RONG WANG & DAVID W. RUSSELL
Nature 422, 901–904 (2003); doi:10.1038/nature01539
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Stem cells: Fusion brings down barriers
ALEXANDER MEDVINSKY & AUSTIN SMITH
It remains uncertain how tissue-specific stem cells could generate the mature cell types of another tissue. In one instance, where bone-marrow-derived stem cells repair damaged liver in mice, cell fusion is the answer.
Nature 422, 823–825 (2003); doi:10.1038/422823a
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