Scientists from the Michigan State University have discovered a new kind of stem cell that may have some interesting effects on other types of stem cells. The new kind of stem cell, named induced XEN (iXEN) was noticed a few years ago, but initially believed to be a cellular bi-product.
Researchers now believe that iXEN is a stem cell which has its own unique function within the human body. This breakthrough was recently published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.
Stem cells are classified in terms of how many types of cells they can differentiate into, referred to as their “plasticity”. A totipotent stem cell can turn into any other kind of cell (including other stem cells), a pluripotent stem cell can turn into any tissue cell, multipotent stem cells can turn into a limited number of cells and adult stem cells have a specific type of cell they can turn into.
Scientists have also developed a type of stem cell called induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) by chemically altering other types of cells. This discovery gave researchers an easily obtainable source of these powerful stem cells, which were previously only available from embryos.
Researchers had first noticed iXEN cells in embryos, surrounding pluripotent cells. They initially suspected the cells were some kind of bi-product of cellular division or a waste product. Researchers then noticed that induced pluripotent stem cells also had iXEN cells present.
Suspecting these cells played some kind of important role, they tested the cells in mouse models. They discovered that the iXEN cells affected how pluripotent cells propagated — the more iXEN cells present, the more pluripotent cells available.
The next step is to determine if they have the same function in humans, but researchers are fairly certain that is the case. This discovery may allow researchers to precisely control how many pluripotent cells are created in vitro and before transplantation into patients.
Source: Scientists Discover a New Kind of Stem Cell
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