"Elite" stem cells help dominate the reprogramming niche
/Not all stem cells are created equal
Researchers have discovered a population of cells – dubbed to be “elite” – that play a key role in the process of transforming differentiated cells into stem cells. The finding has important implications for regenerative medicine.
Stem cells have the ability to transform into specialized cells – from lung to brain. Stem cells are common in embryos, but within the last 15 years, a technique called cell reprogramming has enabled scientists to turn mature cells back into so-called pluripotent stem cells, with the power to develop into any cell type.
While reprogramming is well understood, less is known about the intricacies of how individual reprogramming cells behave in a population setting. Researchers found a group of cells that appear to have a competitive advantage in reprogramming. The research is published in Science.
The team used cells extracted from mouse skin, known as mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). They used DNA-barcoding technologies to give each MEF a unique tag, track individual cells during reprogramming and associate them with their parent population. They also used computational modelling to help understand the complex data generated and to make predictions that were tested in the lab.
