Database of Publications Featuring Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Lines
In the last three decades, stem cells have greatly impacted biomedical research and have
advanced our understanding of many diseases, including diabetes, muscular
dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and osteoporosis. Many of the breakthroughs in the
application of stem cells have been made using proliferative cells derived from
mouse embryos. In 1981, the first mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell lines were
isolated and grown in culture. These cells were among the first to be shown to
grow in an undifferentiated state for long periods of time and to be capable of
differentiating into multiple cell types. Following this discovery, mouse ES
cells rapidly became an indispensable tool for discovery in biomedical
research.
Mouse ES cell lines have enabled notable basic scientific discoveries in areas such as cell
cycle regulation, spatial and temporal relationships during development, and
the roles of various transcription factors and homeobox genes in developmental
pathways. Furthermore, homologous recombination between modified gene
constructs and the ES cell genome has allowed scientists to establish hundreds
of transgenic mice that feature a single, targeted genetic change, thereby
illuminating the relationships between individual genes and disease states. As
an enabling technology, mouse ES cells have influenced many related fields of
research, including drug-development paradigms, directed differentiation to
treat specific diseases, and nuclear transfer protocols used in cloning.
In the two decades that followed the establishment of mouse ES cells, more than 1300
peer-reviewed publications have included mouse ES cell lines as a research
emphasis. Hundreds of new cell lines have been created, many of which have
yielded valuable information about specific diseases. As a resource for
researchers, the NIH has created a searchable database of publications from
1981 to 2001 that feature mouse ES cell lines. As applications of ES cell
biology progress from a discovery tool to applied technologies for medicine,
research using mouse ES cell lines will continue to enable extraordinary
achievements.
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