"That's a lot of work, just to find the one cell that fits the functional definition of a true
neoblast. And if we want to define it molecularly by identifying the genes that cell is expressing, we have to destroy the cell for processing.
For instance, they are known to mediate epigenetic regulation and stem cell maintenance in Drosophila as well as maintenance of
neoblast cells in planaria [138, 139].
This transition is marked by the appearance of sparse and tiny
neoblast of chlorite and rare andalusite in dotted slates, which are gradually replaced by medium- to coarse-grained schists where porphyroblasts of plagioclase, muscovite and cordierite are widespread and easily recognized to the naked eye.
Deciphering the molecular machinery of stem cells: a look at the
neoblast gene expression profile.
This process commences with the formation of blastema, which is composed by
neoblast which are undifferentiated and totipotent cells.
Clonogenic
neoblasts are pluripotent adult stem cells that underlie planarian regeneration.
Planarian flatworms can regenerate their entire anatomy through contributions of a continuous population of pluripotent stem cells called
neoblasts. The recent ability to culture pluripotent mammalian stem cells has increased the interest of using planarians as a model for regenerative medicine, thus increasing the interest in the planarian species Schmidtea mediterranea as the model organism.
Some investigations have linked asexuality to the inversion of some genetic factors that otherwise inhibit the transformation of
neoblasts into germ cells in fissiparous specimens (Grasso and Benazzi, 1973).
Figure 3 shows the quantification of CD133 positive stem cells (
neoblasts) in the periphery of the seminiferous tubules of D.
The study, entitled "zic-1 Expression in Planarian
Neoblasts after Injury Controls Anterior Pole Regeneration," was reported in PLOS Genetics.
The team found that the worms' stem cells, known as
neoblasts, march out, multiply, and start rebuilding tissues lost to amputation.
Overlapping and divergent actions of estrogens and the neurotrophins on cell fate and p53-dependent signal transduction in conditionally immortalized cerebral cortex
neoblasts. J Neurosci 19:6994-7006.