Dedifferentiation and Regenerative Medicine: The Past and the Future

Abstract

The turnabout of cellular differentiation, which is named as dedifferentiation or cytodedifferentiation, has enchanted biologists for many decades. The term cellular dedifferentiation was initially formulated by researchers who would like to describe the general dissociation or histolysis of tissues that occurred in the proximity to amputation plane following the loss of a limb or tail. Although scientists could reprogram cells in culture, in vivo cellular reprogramming or cellular dedifferentiation has recently emerged in both vertebrate and invertebrate, allowing for analyzing this fascinating process under more specific and physiologically relevant circumstances. Myofibers, Schwann cells, periosteal cells, and connective tissue cells dissociated and formed mononucleated cells that migrated to the distal end of the stump where they formed a regeneration blastema under the wound epithelial cap. Researches have demonstrated that dedifferentiation emerged not only during the large-scale process of cellular regeneration but also at low levels to restore stem cells that are lost or damaged within normal turnover. Although dedifferentiation is poorly understood, it has the potential to generate numerous cell types for disease therapy. This review has summarized the chronological profile of achievement in the field of cellular dedifferentiation in both zoology and phytology. As the last chapter of this book, the vista of future research on this field was included with accent on interpreting dedifferentiation by cutting-edge methods and novel perspectives.