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PMID: 19906852 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

Non-genetic heterogeneity of cells in development: more than just noise.

Development (Cambridge, England) ·Vol. 136 ·No. 23 ·2009-12-00 ·Pages 3853-62

Huang S

Abstract

Cell-to-cell variability of gene expression in clonal populations of mammalian cells is ubiquitous. However, because molecular biologists habitually assume uniformity of the cell populations that serve as starting material for experimental analysis, attention to such non-genetic heterogeneity has been scant. As awareness of, and interest in, understanding its biological significance increases, this Primer attempts to clarify the confusing terminologies used in an emerging field that often conflates heterogeneity with noise, and provides a qualitative introduction to the fundamental dynamic principles that underlie heterogeneity. It thus aims to present a useful conceptual framework to organize, analyze and communicate observations made at the resolution of individual cells that indicate that heterogeneity of cell populations plays a biological role, such as in multipotency and cell fate decision.

MeSH Terms
Animals Cells Epigenesis, Genetic Genetic Heterogeneity Models, Genetic
Authors & Affiliations
1 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Huang Sui
Institute for Biocomplexity and Informatics, Biological Sciences Bldg, Room 539D, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T3A 0Y1, Canada. [email protected]
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Article Info
Journal
Development (Cambridge, England)
Abbr.
Development
ISSN
1477-9129
DOI
10.1242/dev.035139
Email
[email protected]
Published
2009-12-00
Pages
3853-62
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
8701744
PMCID
PMC2778736
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1242/dev.035139 PMC Full Text View journal details
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