Abstract
The recent letter by Ivanovic commenting on work published by our group on very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) in cord blood and bone marrow raises important questions on the properties and regenerative potential of VSELs. Similar to embryonic stem cells, being pluripotent by nature, VSELs are expected to have maximum regenerative potential compared with adult stem cells with limited “plasticity.” We propose that both hematopoietic (HSCs) and mesenchymal (MSCs) stem cells with cytoplasmic OCT-4 are possibly descendants “progenitors” derived from VSELs with nuclear OCT-4. Being pluripotent and quiescent by nature, VSELs may serve as a good autologous source of pluripotent stem cells (with minimal risk of teratoma formation) for regenerative medicine.
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