To truly know whether a stem cell has the developmental flexibility to give rise to new, therapeutic tissue types, the cells must undergo a definitive test in which they are injected into mice and observed. Yet many say this measure is too slow, too expensive and too unreliable. Elie Dolgin goes in search of a replacement.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Somers, A. et al. Stem Cells 28, 1728–1740 (2010).
James, D., Noggle, S.A., Swigut, T. & Brivanlou, A.H. Dev. Biol. 295, 90–102 (2006).
Müller, F.J., Goldmann, J., Löser, P. & Loring, J.F. Cell Stem Cell 6, 412–414 (2010).
Müller, F.J. et al. Nature 455, 401–405 (2008).
Baek, K.H. et al. Nature 459, 1126–1130 (2009).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dolgin, E. Putting stem cells to the test. Nat Med 16, 1354–1357 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1210-1354
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1210-1354
This article is cited by
-
A qPCR ScoreCard quantifies the differentiation potential of human pluripotent stem cells
Nature Biotechnology (2015)
-
The 3R principle: advancing clinical application of human pluripotent stem cells
Stem Cell Research & Therapy (2013)