Cell Lineage And Fate Determination

Cell Lineage and Fate Determination provides a comprehensive view of the mechanisms regulating cell lineage and fate determination in an effort to understand how the fertilized egg is transformed into a complex of specialized tissues. It presents basic information on eight different animal models and recent developmental biological research done in each model. The book provides a focused forum presenting key information for researchers studying various aspects of developmental and cellular biology. Extensive use of tables and black-and-white and color figures helps illustrate each model. The book concludes by discussing future goals for bringing cellular, molecular, and genetic research to clinical applications and tissue replacement therapies. Key Features* Presents eight different animal models* Provides a focused forum on cell fate determination that provides comprehensive and key information for researchers* Illustrates the transitional relationship between researchers and clinicians* Includes the extensive use of tables and color figures

Studies of organisms have led to a greatly improved understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying developmental processes, and the epigenetic and environmental influences on these processes. This second edition reviews these three levels and their relative importance to give the reader a clear picture of one of the most exciting areas of current biological research.

The fundamental question of how an undifferentiated progenitor cell adopts a more specialized cell fate that then contributes to the development of specialized tissues, organs, organ systems and ultimately a unique individual of a given species has intrigued cell and developmental biologists for many years. Advances in molecular and cell biology have enabled investigators to identify genetic and epigenetic factors that contribute to these processes with increasing detail and also to define the various molecular characteristics of each cell fate with greater precision. Understanding these processes have also provided greater insights into disorders in which the normal mechanisms of cell fate determination are altered, such as in cancer and inherited malformations. With these advances have come techniques that facilitate the manipulation of cell fate, which have the potential to revolutionize the field of medicine by facilitating the repair and/or regeneration of diseased organs. Given the rapid advances that are occurring in the field, the articles in this eBook are both relevant and timely. These articles originally appeared online as part of the Research Topic “Cell Fate” overseen by my colleagues Dr. Lin, Dr. Buttitta, Dr. Maves, Dr. Dilworth, Dr. Paladini and myself and have been viewed extensively. Because of their popularity, they are now made available as an eBook, in a more easily downloadable form. Michael T. Chin

T cells play a vital role mediating adaptive immunity, a specific acquired resistance to an infectious agent produced by the introduction of an antigen. There are a variety of T cell types with different functions. They are called T cells, because they are derived from the thymus gland. This volume discusses how T cells are regulated through the operation of signaling mechanisms. Topics covered include positive and negative selection, early events in T cell receptor engagement, and various T cell subsets.

The relationship of cell lineage and differentiation is one of the most intriguing problems in developmental biology. In most higher organisms, the analysis of the cell lineage has to rely on indirect methods. Only in the most suitable systems, like the nematodes, can the pattern of cell division be determined by direct observation under the microscope. In cases where this is not possible, the fate of the cells has to be examined by using cell markers. Most suitable for this purpose are genetic markers, provided that they do not interfere with the developmental pathway to be studied. However, suitable genetic markers and techniques for generating genetic mosaics are available in a few organisms only. Therefore, this volume is largely concerned with Drosophila and the mouse, which have been studied most extensively. In 1929 STURTEVANT introduced the analysis of gynandromorphs into devel opmental genetics. However, this important contribution remained largely unnoticed until the late sixties, when the potential of this technique for deter mining embryonic fate maps and the number of primordial cells was exploited, and the methodology extended to the mapping of mutational foci. Mitotic recombination was demostrated by STER:-