Lonely death dance of human pluripotent stem cells: ROCKing between metastable cell states

Two kinds of human pluripotent cells, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), promise new avenues for medical innovation. These human cells share many similarities with mouse counterparts, including pluripotency, and they exhibit several unique propertie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Trends in cell biology 2011-05, Vol.21 (5), p.274-282
Main Authors:	Ohgushi, Masatoshi, Sasai, Yoshiki
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Animals Apoptosis - drug effects Cadherins - metabolism Cell Adhesion Cytoskeletal Proteins - metabolism Embryonic Stem Cells - drug effects Embryonic Stem Cells - metabolism Embryonic Stem Cells - physiology Humans Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells - drug effects Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells - metabolism Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells - physiology Myosins - metabolism Pathology Protein Kinase Inhibitors - pharmacology rac GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism Rho Factor - metabolism rho-Associated Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors rho-Associated Kinases - metabolism
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Summary:	Two kinds of human pluripotent cells, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), promise new avenues for medical innovation. These human cells share many similarities with mouse counterparts, including pluripotency, and they exhibit several unique properties. This review examines the diversity of mammalian pluripotent cells from a perspective of metastable pluripotency states. An intriguing phenomenon unique to human pluripotent stem cells is dissociation-induced apoptosis, which has been a technical problem for various cellular manipulations. The discovery that this apoptosis is suppressed by ROCK inhibitors brought revolutionary change to this troublesome situation. We discuss possible links of the metastable pluripotent state to ROCK-dependent human embryonic stem cell apoptosis and summarize recent progress in molecular understandings of this phenomenon.
ISSN:	0962-8924 1879-3088