Immune Reactions Help Reprogram Cells

摘要

When under threat, it pays to be flexible. That principle may help explain why scientists have been able to use viruses to reprogram differentiated cells into stem cells, an advance that was recognized as part of this year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. In the 26 October issue of Cell, a U.S. research team reports that a cell's defensive reaction to viruses seems to make it more open to expressing genes that are usually shut down-whether they be those that trigger inflammation or those that are active in stem cells.