Source: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Date: April 11, 2011
Summary:
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Whitehead Institute researchers have discovered that a differentiated cell type found in breast tissue can spontaneously convert to a stem-cell-like state, the first time such behavior has been observed in mammalian cells. These results refute scientific dogma, which states that differentiation is a one-way path; once cells specialize, they cannot return to the flexible stem-cell state on their own. This surprising finding, published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), may have implications for the development of cancer therapeutics, particularly those aimed at eradicating cancer stem cells.
