Towards a Blueprint For Differentiation
EurekAlert! reports on another advance in our understanding of stem cell differentiation: "If you have an electrical problem in a car, you can repair it a lot easier if you have a wiring diagram. In a way that's what we're trying to do here, except we're trying to repair or create a certain kind of cell. ... Even though the processes of cellular development are understood in a broad sense, the detailed biochemistry that underlies and controls these processes is still poorly defined. ... Still unknown is exactly what causes certain genes to be expressed. In other words, out of the thousands of genes that could direct the formation of a cell in many different directions, only a subset actually get turned on and become operative in each type of cell. ... We were able to use a system of microarray comparisons that monitored the expression of genes and more quickly gives us an idea of how this process is working, and how patterns of development occur." Such is the groundwork needed for the next generation of regenerative medicine.
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-11/osu-ahe111706.php