Matrix control of stem cell fate.

Even-Ram, Sharona; Artym, Vira; Yamada, Kenneth M · Cell · 2006

review · Level V

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Abstract

A key challenge in stem cell research is to learn how to direct the differentiation of stem cells toward specific fates. In this issue of Cell, Engler et al. (2006) identify a new factor regulating stem cell fate: the elasticity of the matrix microenvironment. By changing the stiffness of the substrate, human mesenchymal stem cells could be directed along neuronal, muscle, or bone lineages.

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