A recessive genetic screens to identify regulators of embryonic stem cell self-renewal and lineage commitment

胚胎干细胞（ES）在培养中表现出无限生长，同时保留分化为所有胎儿或成体细胞类型的潜力。胚胎干细胞在再生医学中的应用要求胚胎干细胞在培养中分化为特定的细胞类型，如多巴胺能神经细胞，可用于替代帕金森病患者受损的神经。然而，目前我们还不能以这种方式可靠地指导细胞分化，因此即使我们成功地产生了神经细胞，它们也往往与其他不需要的类型混合在一起。更好地了解ES细胞在培养中的生长和分化所涉及的基因和分子信号将有助于开发用于定向ES细胞分化的新培养系统。将隐性遗传筛选等新技术应用于ES细胞生物学和体外分化的研究，将使我们能够发现新的成分，并为已建立的ES细胞调控途径带来新的观点。

Embryonic stem (ES) cells exhibit indefinite growth in culture while retaining the potential to differentiate into all fetal or adult cell types. The application of ES cells in regenerative medicine requires that ES cell differentiation in culture be directed to become a specific cell type, such as dopaminergic nerve cells, which could be used to replace the damaged nerves in Parkinson‘s disease patients. However, at present we are unable to reliably direct cell differentiation in this way, so even when we successfully generate nerve cells they tend to be mixed together with other unwanted types. Better understanding of the genes and molecular signaling involved in ES cell growth and differentiation in culture will help develop new culture systems for directed ES cell differentiation. Application of new techniques, such as the proposed recessive genetic screen, to the study of ES cell biology and in vitro differentiation will allow us to find novel components as well as bring new views to the established ES cell regulatory pathways.