TDP-43 and Paraspeckle: Key Factor to Determine Stem Cells Differentiated or Remain Pluripotent

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) can be transformed into any cells in the body or maintain their original form. In a new study, researchers from research institutions such as the Helmholtz Center in Germany described how cells decide which of these two directions to choose. In their research, they identified a protein and a ribonucleic acid (RNA) that played a very important role in this process. Their findings also…

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PCGF5 Is Required for Neural Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells

Researcher Yao Hongjie from the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences published a research report entitled “PCGF5 is required for neural differentiation of embryonic stem cells” on Nature Communications. This work reveals the molecular mechanism by which polycomb PCGF5 regulates the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into neural precursor cells.   Epigenetic modification plays an important role in maintaining stem cell characteristics and cell fate transformation….

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Perspective: Using microRNAs to Induce Single-cell variability

microRNAs

Newest article from Science Magazine: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6292/1390 A single zygote with a defined DNA sequence gives rise to all the varied cells of the mammalian body. This variety of cell fates may arise in part from cell-to-cell variability in the gene expression programs of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Three recent studies have taken different approaches to characterizing this variability in gene expression in stem cells. These results suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs)…

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What Makes Cancer So Fatal?

There exists, in some cancers, some abnormal cells similar to stem cells. These cells are as factories that are working overtime. They quickly produce a copy of their own and from time to time generate some variations. What’s worse, those cells can spread to other tissues of the body, and eventually leading to cancer metastasis.   Researchers in Salk institution found that, Sox10 can determine whether cells will transform into…

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Regeneration of Heart?

In all one’s life, the blood, hair and skin cells can be continuously regenerated, but the heart cells lose proliferative capacity soon after birth. UCLA researchers first clarified the reasons why adult heart can not regenerate. The study, published in a recently Journal of Cell Biology, could help people reprogram the patient’s heart, so that Cardiomyocytes cells can regain the ability to repair itself. In the first week after birth,…

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