April 26, 2024

A New Way to Control Stem Cell Fate Using Gene Circuits

To make this a truth, Zandstra and his colleagues, consisting of very first author Laura Prochazka, strategically developed an artificial gene circuit to discover and manage what separated state a cell is in. In contrast, cells expressing moderate to high levels of BMP4 formed gastrulation patterns, comparable to cells exposed to exogenous BMP4. Moving forward, the researchers desire to engineer these intricate circuits to eliminate undesirable differentiated cells or track cell states to monitor hPSC production to for applications in regenerative and transplant medicine.References” Organ Donation Statistics,” https://www.organdonor.gov/learn/organ-donation-statistics, accessed Feb 19, 2023.

According to the Health Resource and Service Administration, seventeen Americans pass away each day waiting for an organ transplant.1 Scientists are exploring substitutes for transplantation, including the usage of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) as alternative therapies. To make this a truth, Zandstra and his associates, consisting of very first author Laura Prochazka, tactically developed an artificial gene circuit to manage and identify what distinguished state a cell is in. Variant cells expressing BMP4 at low levels remained in the undifferentiated pluripotent state. In contrast, cells expressing moderate to high levels of BMP4 formed gastrulation patterns, similar to cells exposed to exogenous BMP4. Moving forward, the scientists desire to engineer these complex circuits to kill undesirable differentiated cells or track cell states to monitor hPSC production to for applications in regenerative and hair transplant medicine.References” Organ Donation Statistics,” https://www.organdonor.gov/learn/organ-donation-statistics, accessed Feb 19, 2023.