Embryonic Pathways Induce Stem Cell Traits  HealthDay SHARE
THURSDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have found that
normal cells and cancer cells that acquire the ability to use
long dormant pathways to migrate through the body may gain
properties of adult stem cells, including the ability to self-
renew.  The finding helps researchers better understand adult
stem cell creation -- knowledge they hope will lead to
developing healthy stem cells for regenerative medicine and
target-specific cancer drugs.  Research published online May 15
in Cell shows that cells that undergo an "epithelial-to-
mesenchymal" (EMT) transition, in mice or humans, acquire many
important stem cell characteristics. The study also shows that
normal, naturally existing stem cells and tumor-seeding cancer
stem cells share characteristics with these post-EMT cells.
"This for us is a very exciting discovery, not only because of
its unexpectedness, but because it offers a route by which one
could in principle generate unlimited numbe