New tools to study the origin of embryonic stem cells
Immunofluorescence microscopy reveals the completely different protein profiles of immature stem cells (colored pink) and mature stem cells (colored inexperienced). Credit score: Sarita Panula Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have recognized cell floor markers particular for the very earliest stem cells within the human embryo. These cells are thought to own nice potential for changing broken tissue however till now have been troublesome to tell apart from classical embryonic stem cells. The examine is printed within the journal Cell Stem Cell . Through the first week of fertilisation, the embryo grows from a single cell right into a blastocyst, a hole cluster of some hundred cells. The blastocyst then attaches itself to the wall of the uterus (implantation), and for a restricted interval from fertilisation to a couple days after implantation the embryo incorporates pluripotent stem cells. These cells can grow to be all of the physique's cell varieties and a...