| Popis: |
Early in 1981, the pluripotential cells were first established from mouse embryos by Evans et al (Evans and Kaufman, 1981). In the same year, Martin et al (Martin, 1981) named these pluripotential cells embryonic stem (ES) cells. In 1990s, human ES cells were first established by Thomson et al (Thomson et al., 1998). Such ES cells isolated from inner cell masses of blastocysts present the unique property of self-renewal and the ability to generate differentiated progeny in all embryonic lineages both in vitro and in vivo. The pluripotency of these ES cells was demonstrated conclusively by the observation that subclonal cultures, derived from isolated single cells, can differentiate into a wide variety of cell types including gut epithelium (endoderm); cartilage, bone, smooth muscle, and striated muscle (mesoderm); and neural epithelium, embryonic ganglia, and stratified squamous epithelium (ectoderm). Due to these unique properties, ES cells may become an exceptional source of tissues for transplantation and have great potential for the therapy of incurable diseases. |
