scholarly journals Autophagy in Stem Cell Biology: A Perspective on Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Differentiation

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xihang Chen ◽  
Yunfan He ◽  
Feng Lu

Autophagy is a highly conserved cellular process that degrades modified, surplus, or harmful cytoplasmic components by sequestering them in autophagosomes which then fuses with the lysosome for degradation. As a major intracellular degradation and recycling pathway, autophagy is crucial for maintaining cellular homeostasis, as well as for remodeling during normal development. Impairment of this process has been implicated in various diseases, in the pathogenic response to bacterial and viral infections, and in aging. Pluripotent stem cells, with their ability to self-replicate and to give rise to any specialized cell type, are very valuable resources for cell-based medical therapies and open a number of promising avenues for studying human development and disease. It has been suggested that autophagy is vital for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis in stem cells, and subsequently more in-depth knowledge about the regulation of autophagy in stem cell biology has been acquired recently. In this review, we describe the most significant advances in the understanding of autophagy regulation in hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, as well as in induced pluripotent stem cells. In particular, we highlight the roles of various autophagy activities in the regulation of self-renewal and differentiation of these stem cells.

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (07) ◽  
pp. 39-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qizhou Lian ◽  
Yenyen Chow ◽  
Miguel Esteban ◽  
Duanqing Pei ◽  
Hung-Fat Tse

SummaryRecent advances in stem cell biology have transformed the understanding of cell physiology and developmental biology such that it can now play a more prominent role in the clinical application of stem cell and regenerative medicine. Success in the generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) as well as related emerging technology on the iPS platform provide great promise in the development of regenerative medicine. Human iPS cells show almost identical properties to human embryonic stem cells (ESC) in pluripotency, but avoid many of their limitations of use. In addition, investigations into reprogramming of somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells facilitate a deeper understanding of human stem cell biology. The iPS cell technology has offered a unique platform for studying the pathogenesis of human disease, pharmacological and toxicological testing, and cell-based therapy. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain to be overcome before the promise of human iPS cell technology can be realised.


2021 ◽  
pp. 39-51
Author(s):  
Jonathan Slack

‘Personalized pluripotent stem cells’ discusses cloning and its connection to stem cell biology. Somatic cell nuclear transplantation into oocytes can make personalized pluripotent stem cells as a perfect genetic match to a specific patient that provoke no immune rejection on grafting. Because this procedure involves generation of cells but no formation of an actual cloned individual, it has become known as human therapeutic cloning. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are made by introducing a few specific genes into normal cells. They are also a perfect genetic match to the individual donating the normal cells and because they are easy to make are now the preferred source.


2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Shamoli Bhattacharyya

ABSTRACT Mesenchymal stem cells have shown great promise as the source of adult stem cells for regenerative medicine. Present research efforts are directed at isolating these cells from various sources, growing them in vitro and maintaining their pluripotency as well as capacity for self renewal. It is crucial to identify the regulatory molecules which directly or indirectly control the proliferative status or influence the niche microenvironment. The main challenge is to understand the basic biology of the stem cells and manipulate them for further therapeutic applications. Considering their malignant potential, stem cells may be a double edged sword. While the benefits of these cells need to be harnessed judiciously, a significant amount of research is required before embarking on widespread use of this tool for the benefit of humanity. How to cite this article Bhattacharyya S. Advances and Applications in Stem Cell Biology. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2012;46(2):75-80.


2006 ◽  
Vol 290 (2) ◽  
pp. G189-G193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil D. Theise

This essay will address areas of liver stem/progenitor cell studies in which consensus has emerged and in which controversy still prevails over consensus, but it will also highlight important themes that inevitably should be a focus of liver stem/progenitor cell investigations in coming years. Thus concepts regarding cell plasticity, the existence of a physiological/anatomic stem cell niche, and whether intrahepatic liver stem/progenitor cells comprise true stem cells or progenitor cells (or both) will be approached in some detail.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (07) ◽  
pp. 15-28 ◽  

The clinical application of stem cells in hematopoietic disease. Use of pluripotent stem cells and their differentiated products in pharmacological drug discovery and safety testing. Messages from the nucleus: Insights into Aging. inStem: The Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoqiang Sun ◽  
Chelsea Fu ◽  
Caroline Shen ◽  
Yanhong Shi

Stem cells have provided great hope for the treatment of a variety of human diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying stem cell pluripotency, self-renewal, and differentiation remain to be unveiled. Epigenetic regulators, including histone deacetylases (HDACs), have been shown to coordinate with cell-intrinsic transcription factors and various signaling pathways to regulate stem cell pluripotency, self-renewal, and fate determination. This paper focuses on the role of HDACs in the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells and the application of HDAC inhibitors in reprogramming somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). It promises to be an active area of future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (24) ◽  
pp. 13674
Author(s):  
Giulia Paolini Sguazzi ◽  
Valentina Muto ◽  
Marco Tartaglia ◽  
Enrico Bertini ◽  
Claudia Compagnucci

To date, gene therapy has employed viral vectors to deliver therapeutic genes. However, recent progress in molecular and cell biology has revolutionized the field of stem cells and gene therapy. A few years ago, clinical trials started using stem cell replacement therapy, and the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) technology combined with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing has launched a new era in gene therapy for the treatment of neurological disorders. Here, we summarize the latest findings in this research field and discuss their clinical applications, emphasizing the relevance of recent studies in the development of innovative stem cell and gene editing therapeutic approaches. Even though tumorigenicity and immunogenicity are existing hurdles, we report how recent progress has tackled them, making engineered stem cell transplantation therapy a realistic option.


2011 ◽  
Vol 212 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emin Umit Bagriacik ◽  
Melek Yaman ◽  
Rauf Haznedar ◽  
Gulsan Sucak ◽  
Tuncay Delibasi

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells are pluripotent cells that are capable of differentiating into a variety of cell types including neuronal cells, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, myocytes, and adipocytes. Despite recent advances in stem cell biology, neuroendocrine relations, particularly TSH interactions remain elusive. In this study, we investigated expression and biological consequence of TSH receptor (TSHR) interactions in mesenchymal stem cells of cultured human bone marrow. To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrated for the first time that human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells expressed a functional thyrotropin receptor that was capable of transducing signals through cAMP. We extended this study to explore possible pathways that could be associated directly or indirectly with the TSHR function in mesenchymal stem cells. Expression of 80 genes was studied by real-time PCR array profiles. Our investigation indicated involvements of interactions between TSH and its receptor in novel regulatory pathways, which could be the important mediators of self-renewal, maintenance, development, and differentiation in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. TSH enhanced differentiation to the chondrogenic cell lineage; however, further work is required to determine whether osteoblastic differentiation is also promoted. Our results presented in this study have opened an era of regulatory events associated with novel neuroendocrine interactions of hypothalamic–pituitary axis in mesenchymal stem cell biology and differentiation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5519
Author(s):  
Salvador C. Herrera ◽  
Erika A. Bach

The Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway is an evolutionary conserved kinase cascade best known for its roles during stress-induced apoptosis and tumor progression. Recent findings, however, have identified new roles for this pleiotropic pathway in stem cells during regenerative responses and in cellular plasticity. Here, we provide an overview of recent findings about the new roles of JNK signaling in stem cell biology using two well-established Drosophila models: the testis and the intestine. We highlight the pathway’s roles in processes such as proliferation, death, self-renewal and reprogramming, and discuss the known parallels between flies and mammals.


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