摘 要：摘 要：胚胎干细胞作为一种具有自我更新能力的细胞，可以在体外无限对称性分裂，同时保持未分化状态，具有向各种类型细胞分化的潜能。基于这一特性，胚胎干细胞(embryonic stem cell, ES细胞)有着极其广阔的应用前景。维持ES细胞自我更新的机制至今尚未阐明，推测ES细胞的自我更新机制是一个包括细胞外刺激、细胞内多种因子共同参与的复杂的网络调节系统。近年来发现同源域蛋白Nanog在这个网络调节系统中处于中心地位，对ES细胞自我更新的维持起着关键作用。本文就近年来关于Nanog在ES细胞自我更新维持中的作用，以及它与其他信号通路之间的对话，阐明ES细胞自我更新的维持机制。
关键词：Nanog蛋白；ES细胞；LIF；Oct4；Sox2；自我更新；全能性
Abstract: Abstract: As a kind of cells with self-renewal property, embryonic stem (ES) cells have the capacity to undergo indefinite symmetrical cell divisions while retaining the undifferentiating state and the potency to differentiate into cells of all kinds. Due to this property, it is certain that ES cells will have a wide variety of application in the future.The maintenance mechanism of self-renewal of ES cells hasn抰 been fully made clear so far, it implied that the self-renewal mechanism of ES cells was a complex regulative network system involving the co-participation of various extrinsic stimuli and intrinsic factors of a cell.The newly discovered homeodomain protein Nanog plays a key role in maintaining the self-renewal of ES cells, thus, it is vital to the regulative network system.This review is intended to elucidate the mechanism of maintenance of self-renewal of ES cells, based on our current understanding of the key role of Nanog in the maintenance of self-renewal of ES cells, and the crosstalk of Nanog with other signal paths.
Key words: Nanog protein； ES cell；LIF；Oct4；Sox2；self-renewal；pluripotency
