Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.

Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming

Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming

Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012...

Cellular Differentiation

Cellular Differentiation

How does a complex organism such as a human develop from a single cell? It all starts from a single fertilized egg which gives rise to a vast array of cell types, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, and epithelial cells that characterize the adult? Throughout development and adulthood, cellular differentiation leads cells to assume their final morphology and physiology. Differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells become specialized to carry out distinct functions.
A zygote is a...

Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming

Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming

Nuclear reprogramming is a process of transforming one cell type into an unrelated cell type by epigenetic changes that alter the cell’s original gene expression pattern. Such epigenetic changes force cells to express a different set of genes, which play a significant role in inducing transformation into other cell types. Nuclear reprogramming offers applications in reproductive cloning for livestock propagation and regenerative medicine — developing patient-specific cells for...

Maintenance of the ES Cell State

Maintenance of the ES Cell State

The cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass only remain pluripotent for a short time. This state of pluripotency and self-renewal can be maintained in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture by adding specific chemicals or growth factors to ensure the cells can continue dividing and later differentiate into different cell types. In some cases, the cells are grown on a feeder layer of differentiated cells, which provides the growth factors and extracellular matrix components necessary for stem cell...

Introduction to Nuclear Reprogramming

Introduction to Nuclear Reprogramming

Nuclear reprogramming is the process of switching gene expression of one cell type to that of another cell type, usually from a differentiated cell state to an undifferentiated cell state. Differentiation occurs during processes such as development and morphogenesis, tissue regeneration, and malignancy. Cells can also be artificially induced to reprogram their gene expression by techniques such as nuclear transfer, induced pluripotency, and cell fusion. Such techniques have many applications in...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Progenitor Resilience and the Early Onset of Chronic Lung Diseases: NHLBI workshop report.

American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology·2026

Same author

An integrated single-cell and spatial proteotranscriptomics atlas of fibroblast-driven immunoregulation within the human adult oral cavity.

Cell press blue·2026

Same author

Stem cell migration drives lung repair in living mice.

Developmental cell·2026

Same author

New approaches to uncover COPD pathobiology and develop therapies.

JCI insight·2026

Same author

TP53/TAU axis regulates microtubule bundling to control alveolar stem cell-mediated regeneration.

The Journal of clinical investigation·2026

Same author

Ferret model of bleomycin-induced lung injury shares features of human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

NPJ Regenerative medicine·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Evaluation of Injury-induced Senescence and In Vivo Reprogramming in the Skeletal Muscle

Evaluation of Injury-induced Senescence and In Vivo Reprogramming in the Skeletal Muscle

Published on: October 26, 2017

Cellular plasticity: 1712 to the present day.

Purushothama Rao Tata¹, Jayaraj Rajagopal²

¹Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Current Opinion in Cell Biology

|August 4, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Mature cells can change into different cell types, a process called plasticity, especially after injury. This cellular plasticity is crucial for organism survival and regeneration.

More Related Videos

A Two-Step Strategy that Combines Epigenetic Modification and Biomechanical Cues to Generate Mammalian Pluripotent Cells

A Two-Step Strategy that Combines Epigenetic Modification and Biomechanical Cues to Generate Mammalian Pluripotent Cells

Published on: August 29, 2020

Establishing a High Throughput Epidermal Spheroid Culture System to Model Keratinocyte Stem Cell Plasticity

Establishing a High Throughput Epidermal Spheroid Culture System to Model Keratinocyte Stem Cell Plasticity

Published on: January 30, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Evaluation of Injury-induced Senescence and In Vivo Reprogramming in the Skeletal Muscle

Evaluation of Injury-induced Senescence and In Vivo Reprogramming in the Skeletal Muscle

Published on: October 26, 2017

A Two-Step Strategy that Combines Epigenetic Modification and Biomechanical Cues to Generate Mammalian Pluripotent Cells

A Two-Step Strategy that Combines Epigenetic Modification and Biomechanical Cues to Generate Mammalian Pluripotent Cells

Published on: August 29, 2020

Establishing a High Throughput Epidermal Spheroid Culture System to Model Keratinocyte Stem Cell Plasticity

Establishing a High Throughput Epidermal Spheroid Culture System to Model Keratinocyte Stem Cell Plasticity

Published on: January 30, 2021

Area of Science:

Cellular Biology
Developmental Biology
Regenerative Medicine

Background:

Cellular identity defines tissue organization through hierarchical differentiation.
Historically, cell plasticity has been observed across various organisms, particularly after injury.
Recent genetic lineage tracing confirms plasticity in mature cells.

Observation:

Mature cells can revert to a less differentiated state (dedifferentiation).
Mature cells can transform into cells of different lineages (transdifferentiation).
Stem cells can interconvert, mimicking progenitor cell transdetermination.

Findings:

Genetic lineage tracing reveals mature cells retain dedifferentiation and transdifferentiation potential post-injury.
Cellular plasticity allows mature cells to acquire new identities.
Stem cell interconversion is also a form of cellular plasticity.

Implications:

Cellular plasticity is vital for organismal survival.
This plasticity is a key component of regenerative processes.
Understanding cell plasticity opens avenues for regenerative therapies.