More on Understanding Differentiation

Understanding cellular differentiation is a key to progress in regenerative medicine. From EurekAlert!: "mesenchymal stem cells, which regularly reside in the bone marrow as part of the body's natural regenerative mechanism, depend on physical clues from their local environment in order to transform into different types of tissue. The researchers were even able to manipulate stem cells by changing the firmness of the gel on which they were grown. ... stem cells sense their environment through the force it takes them to push against surrounding objects. ... the amount of force the stem cell needs to move its cellular muscles triggers an internal chemical signal that, in turn, directs the cell to differentiate. ... cardiac tissue may have been so damaged during the heart attack that the stem cells do not recognize the microenvironment as a guide for turning into heart muscle ... it might be possible to 'prime' stem cells for therapy in the lab, before implanting them in the heart, spine or whatever damaged environment you want to place them."

Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-08/uop-uop082306.php

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