March 2013

Article by Elizabeth Fernandez

UC San Francisco researchers have found that certain rare cells extracted from adult breast tissue can be instructed to become different types of cells – a discovery that could have important potential for regenerative medicine.

As with human embryonic stem cells, the newly found cells are pluripotent, or capable of turning into most cell types, the authors said. The scientists discovered that when the cells were put either in mice, or in cell culture, the cells could differentiate to produce multiple cell types, including those that proceed to make heart, intestine, brain, pancreas and even cartilage.

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