background menstrual blood-derived stem cells (menscs) are a novel source of stem cells that can be easily isolated non-invasively from female volunteered donor without ethical consideration. these mesenchymal-like stem cells have high rate of proliferation and possess multi lineage differentiation potency. this study was undertaken to isolate the menscs and assess their potential in differenti...

BACKGROUND Menstrual blood-derived stem cells (MenSCs) are a novel source of stem cells that can be easily isolated non-invasively from female volunteered donor without ethical consideration. These mesenchymal-like stem cells have high rate of proliferation and possess multi lineage differentiation potency. This study was undertaken to isolate the MenSCs and assess their potential in differenti...

Epidermis and neural tissues differentiate from the ectoderm in animal embryos. Although epidermal fate is thought to be induced in vertebrate embryos, embryological evidence has indicated that no intercellular interactions during early stages are required for epidermal fate in ascidian embryos. To test this hypothesis, we determined the gene regulatory circuits for epidermal and neural specifi...

Identifying key cellular events that facilitate stem cell function and tissue organization is crucial for understanding the process of regeneration. Planarians are powerful model system to study regeneration and stem cell (neoblast) function. Here, using planaria, we show that the initial events of regeneration, such as epithelialization and epidermal organization are critically regulated by a ...

Lineage tracing involves labeling cells to track their subsequent behavior within the normal tissue environment. The advent of genetic lineage tracing and cell proliferation assays, together with high resolution three-dimensional (3D) imaging and quantitative methods to infer cell behavior from lineage-tracing data, has transformed our understanding of murine epidermal stem and progenitor cells...

Cell fate commitment during development is achieved through the expression of lineage-specific transcription factors. Recent studies have suggested that the expression of combinations of these lineage-specific transcription factors can convert adult somatic cells from one type to another. Here we report that the combination of p63, a master regulator of epidermal development and differentiation...

In embryonic development of the leech Helobdella triserialis, each of the four paired ectodermal teloblasts contributes some progeny to a characteristic dorsal or ventral territory of the epidermis. To ascertain the relative roles of cell lineage and cell interactions in generating the highly regular epidermal distribution pattern of the various ectodermal cell lines, a series of experiments wa...