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The development of pluripotent stem cells

Paul J Gokhale1, Peter W Andrews

  • 1Centre for Stem Cell Biology and the Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.

Current Opinion in Genetics & Development
|August 8, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Pluripotent stem cells, crucial for medicine, originated from teratoma tumor research. Understanding these cells, including embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, reveals connections to cancer biology.

Area of Science:

  • Stem cell biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Cancer biology

Background:

  • Pluripotent stem cells hold promise for medical and pharmaceutical applications.
  • The study of teratomas, a rare tumor type, provided early insights into stem cell biology.
  • The identification of teratoma stem cells linked to early embryonic development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the origins of pluripotent stem cell research.
  • To connect teratoma biology to the development of embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
  • To investigate the relationship between prolonged stem cell culture and cancer biology.

Main Methods:

  • Review of historical research linking teratomas to stem cell development.
  • Analysis of the progression from mouse to human pluripotent stem cell models.
  • Examination of genetic changes and culture adaptation in stem cells.

Main Results:

  • Teratoma biology is foundational to understanding pluripotent stem cells.
  • Embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell development was enabled by teratoma research.
  • Prolonged culture of stem cells reveals genetic changes and adaptations relevant to cancer.

Conclusions:

  • The study of teratomas is critical for advancing pluripotent stem cell applications.
  • Understanding stem cell differentiation control is key for therapeutic use.
  • Recent findings highlight the link between stem cell culture adaptation and cancer biology, necessitating further investigation.

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