“…we show that embryonic stem cells are characterized by abundant metabolites with highly unsaturated structures whose levels decrease upon differentiation…Inhibition of the eicosanoid signaling pathway promoted pluripotency and maintained levels of unsaturated fatty acids.”  (Yanes et al., Nat. Chem. Biol., 2010).

This 2010 primary paper opens the door to a revolutionary way to look at the membrane network of stem cells, and the fatty acid composition becomes a fundamental factor in affecting its properties.

The presence of Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) appears as a necessary condition to maintain cell staminality and fatty acids such as Arachidonic Acid, EPA and DHA turn out to be the originator molecules of differentiation processes when they are released from the membrane and are subject to oxygenation and/or hydrogenation reactions.

This “chemical plasticity” appears to regulate stem cell regenerative properties.

Anyone who works with stem cells can no longer avoid considering the cell membrane network as a fundamental and indispensable actor of most cellular processes. For a closer examination of this research field and getting some valuable information, Remembrane proposes Report, the analysis service that allows monitoring membrane fatty acids composition of your cultured cells.

Our experience for a step forward in the understanding of Stem Cell Biology.

Happy Culturing!!!

Remembrane’s Team