Stem cell research focuses on cell cycle

Interesting new work on stem cells sheds light on mysteries about cell differentiation:

Amar Singh, postdoctoral associate in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar of Molecular Cell Biology Stephen Dalton worked together to uncover the mystery about why stem cell populations are thought to be heterogeneous, or made up of a variety of different cells. They discovered the heterogeneity, or difference among the cells, is largely determined by the cell cycle. 

"Since our study shows that heterogeneity may be a normal part of stem cell growth, this may not be that big of a deal anymore," said Singh, who is a researcher in the Franklin College department of biochemistry and molecular biology. "Also, since the cell cycle controls developmental genes, seeing a certain level of heterogeneity in the cells you want to transplant may also be normal."

The idea that stem cells are heterogeneous, or that the cells making up a population are not all identical, emerged in the mid-2000s, and the reason has remained a mystery. Stem cells grow as a population of 1 to 2 million cells per culture dish because cells need to be surrounded by neighboring cells to survive. However, cells next to each other may be at different stages of development, which makes them appear like different cell types.

Great work from our labs - and terrific reporting from public affairs staff. As the release points out, understanding the cell cycle's effect on the early stages of biological development offers new avenues for future research. Our faculty continues to collaborate on the big issues and produce insights with wide implications.