Birth Dating of Cells by Retrovirus

Misty C. Richards

BIRTH DATING OF cells is important to fully elucidate when a cell has been created, to determine what factors or conditions may have led to its conception. Birth dating has been applied within many cell constructs, though recent attention has focused on cells within the central nervous system. With the relatively recent discovery of neuro—genesis, a process of creating functionally integrated neurons from progenitor cells, a plethora of innovative techniques to track the rate of cell birth have been developed. Among some of the most widely used techniques for birth dating of cells are analyses based on the incorporation of nucleotide analogs during cell division, expression of specific markers during the maturation process, and genetic marking with retroviruses. The most robust and reliable results for birth dating are generated from nucleotide analogs and genetic marking by retrovirus, whereas the expression of specific markers has elicited relatively poor results. Birth dating ...

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