Stem Cell Assays

描述（由申请人提供）：多能细胞可以作为大量分化细胞的来源，如神经元和心肌。候选多能细胞系的数量正在迅速增长，而目前证明多能性的方法在技术上是困难的，因此研究人员、临床医生和NIH干细胞项目非常需要直接、可靠的多能性测定方法。我们建议开发一种快速、方便、易于解释的测定方法来定义多能性和鉴定特定的细胞系。公共卫生相关性：我们正在开发的技术将在涉及多能细胞的各种应用中发挥作用。这些包括基本的细胞生物学研究，以了解正常细胞的功能和疾病机制，毒理学和致畸学，药物筛选，临床前和临床研究。从长远来看，多能细胞有潜力用于再生医学，这将需要可靠的多能性测定。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Pluripotent cells can serve as sources of large numbers of differentiated cells, such as neurons and cardiac muscle. The number of candidate pluripotent cell lines is rapidly growing, and current methods for demonstrating pluripotence are technically difficult, so researchers, clinicians, and the NIH stem cell program have a great need for straightforward, reliable assays for pluripotence. We propose to develop a rapid, accessible, and easily interpretable assay to define pluripotence and to identify specific cell lines. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The technology we are developing would be useful in a wide variety of applications involving pluripotent cells. These include basic cell biology studies to understand the functioning of normal cells and disease mechanisms, toxicology and teratology, drug screening, and preclinical and clinical studies. In the longer term, pluripotent cells have the potential to be used in regenerative medicine, which will require reliable assays for pluripotence.