Myeloid and lymphoid contribution to non-haematopoietic lineages through irradiation-induced heterotypic cell fusion
Recent studies have suggested that regeneration of non-haematopoietic cell lineages can occur through heterotypic cell fusion with haematopoietic cells of the myeloid lineage. Here we show that lymphocytes also form heterotypic-fusion hybrids with cardiomyocytes, skeletal muscle, hepatocytes and Purkinje neurons. However, through lineage fate-mapping we demonstrate that such in vivo fusion of lymphoid and myeloid blood cells does not occur to an appreciable extent in steady-state adult tissues or during normal development. Rather, fusion of blood cells with different non-haematopoietic cell types is induced by organ-specific injuries or whole-body irradiation, which has been used in previous studies to condition recipients of bone marrow transplants. Our findings demonstrate that blood cells of the lymphoid and myeloid lineages contribute to various non-haematopoietic tissues by forming rare fusion hybrids, but almost exclusively in response to injuries or inflammation.
Democrat Barack Obama's appeal to  centrist voters has further opened the door to Republican claims his message of change only applies to the positions he has taken in the past.
AP - Iran indicated Saturday that it has no plans to meet a key Western demand that it stop enriching uranium, a day after Tehran sent the European Union a response to an international offer of incentives for halting enrichment.
AP - The call girl involved in a scandal that brought down New York's former governor has dropped a lawsuit claiming "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis exploited her image and name on the Internet.
