TGF-β Family Signaling in Embryonic and Somatic Stem-Cell Renewal and Differentiation
- 1Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114
- 2Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
- 3Lunenfeld-Tanenbam Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada
- Correspondence: acmullen{at}mgh.harvard.edu; wrana{at}lunenfeld.ca
Abstract
Soon after the discovery of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), seminal work in vertebrate and invertebrate models revealed the TGF-β family to be central regulators of tissue morphogenesis. Members of the TGF-β family direct some of the earliest cell-fate decisions in animal development, coordinate complex organogenesis, and contribute to tissue homeostasis in the adult. Here, we focus on the role of the TGF-β family in mammalian stem-cell biology and discuss its wide and varied activities both in the regulation of pluripotency and in cell-fate commitment.
