Mechanical Cues Reprogram Normal Cell Lines into Stem-Like Cells

December 15, 2014

(Phys.org) – Scientists at the University at Buffalo and other institutions have turned cells normally used as model cells, known as immortalized cells, into stem or, as they call it, “stem-like” cells, using nothing more than mechanical stress. They have done it without employing the potentially hazardous techniques previously used to obtain similar results. The researchers use the term “stem-like” cells to describe cells in tissue culture that have many of the biochemical markers of stem cells.