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Plasticity
Cellular plasticity refers to the capacity of cells to change identity and function (for example, a skin cell can become a neuron, etc.).
From embryonic development to the development of a cancer
Embryonic stem cells are capable of generating bone, skin, muscle and other types of cell, hence the term cellular “plasticity”. But the magic of life developing from a single cell which becomes a complete organism can also lead to the generation of fibroses and cancers. This highly specific property can also be used as an arm against cancer and degenerative diseases.
Embryonic stem cells are very plastic as they can be differentiated into several types of cells with different functions. Up to quite recently, adult stem cells, classically defined by their self-renewal properties and differentiation within certain tissues of post-natal recipients, were considered as being specific to the organ which they composed.
This notion was challenged by experiments demonstrating that grafts of certain tissues, especially bone marrow, in an animal having received a lethal dose of radiation, could generate not only haematopoietic cells (the cells at the origin of all blood cell lines) but also muscle, hepatic and even neuronal cells.
On the fundamental level, the discovery of the phenomenon of the persistence of stem cell “plasticity”, represents the overthrow of certain precepts, notably regarding the biology of stem cells and development in general.
As for applied research, these results could represent a major therapeutic breakthrough for several affections of interest to almost every area of medicine including neurology and oncology. However, many in vitro and in vivo studies will be necessary to determine whether this property of cells can result in the development of new treatments in human beings.