Identification of specific pluripotent stem cell death--inducing small molecules by chemical screening.

ABSTRACT: A potential application of embryonic and inducible pluripotent stem cells for the therapy of degenerative diseases involves pure somatic cells, free of tumorigenic undifferentiated embryonic and inducible pluripotent stem cells. In complex collections of chemicals with pharmacological potential we expect to find molecules able to induce specific pluripotent stem cell death, which could be used in some cell therapy settings to eliminate undifferentiated cells. Therefore, we have screened a chemical library of 1120 small chemicals to identify compounds that induce specifically apoptotic cell death in undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Interestingly, three compounds currently used as clinically approved drugs, nortriptyline, benzethonium chloride and methylbenzethonium chlori

SUBMITTER: Conesa C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3305812 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature