A brief historical review of concepts on stem cells is given with a stress made on the role of Russian scientists A. A. Maximov and A. A. Zavarzin who have formulated key problems in biology of stem cells and cell renewal. Principal stages in current studies of stem cells are considered. An outline is given of traditional and recent trends in the investigations: comparative studies of tissue systems with stem cells; molecular-genetic mechanisms of the self-maintenance and the differentiation of stem cells; stem cells as a subject of gene engineering.
机构:
AKAD ZIEKENHUIS ST RAFAEL,DEPT MED RES,PHYSIOPATHOL HEMATOL LAB,B-3000 LEUVEN,BELGIUMAKAD ZIEKENHUIS ST RAFAEL,DEPT MED RES,PHYSIOPATHOL HEMATOL LAB,B-3000 LEUVEN,BELGIUM