Abstract
Pluripotent stem cells have been recently identified in many tissues and intensively studied for their cell-therapeutic potential to renew and replace lost cells in any damaged tissue or organ. However, the true nature and origin of these cells is still unclear. Based on data obtained by Dr. Bonghan Kim (1965), we put forward a hypothesis that a rare population of small stem-like (SSL) cells found in the primo-vascular system (Bonghan system) possesses a broad tissue differentiation potential and that these cells are capable of differentiation into all specialized cells in the adult body. To examine the hypothesis in this study, we isolated SSL cells from primo-vascular system of rats and characterized their morphological and phenotypic features. Our microscopic examinations indicated that SSL cells are very small, approximately 3–4 μm in diameter. Hematoxyline-eosin staining revealed that SSL cells have an extremely dense eccentrically located round nucleus surrounded by basophilic cytoplasm. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that SSL cells expressed embryonic stem cell markers: CD133, Oct 4, and Nanog. Thus, based on our preliminary data, we suppose that SSL cells in the primo-vascular system might be variants of embryonic stem-like cells which can differentiate into tissue-specific cells and regenerate damaged tissue or organ.
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Ogay, V., Soh, KS. (2012). Identification and Characterization of Small Stem-Like Cells in the Primo Vascular System of Adult Animals. In: Soh, KS., Kang, K., Harrison, D. (eds) The Primo Vascular System. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0601-3_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0601-3_21
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