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Understanding Cell Differentiation Through Single-Cell Approaches: Conceptual Challenges of the Systemic Approach

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Systems Biology

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2745))

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Abstract

The cells of a multicellular organism are derived from a single zygote and genetically almost identical. Yet, they are phenotypically very different. This difference is the result of a process commonly called cell differentiation. How the phenotypic diversity emerges during ontogenesis or regeneration is a central and intensely studied but still unresolved issue in biology. Cell biology is facing conceptual challenges that are frequently confused with methodological difficulties. How to define a cell type? What stability or change means in the context of cell differentiation and how to deal with the ubiquitous molecular variations seen in the living cells? What are the driving forces of the change? We propose to reframe the problem of cell differentiation in a systemic way by incorporating different theoretical approaches. The new conceptual framework is able to capture the insights made at different levels of cellular organization and considered previously as contradictory. It also provides a formal strategy for further experimental studies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues for the helpful discussions and the useful comments on the manuscript.

Financial support: EPHE, Stochagene ANR grant n° BSV6 014 02.

This is an updated version of our previous article (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7456-6_3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, St-Antoine Research Center, INSERM U938, Paris, France

    Laëtitia Racine & Andras Paldi

Authors
  1. Laëtitia Racine
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  2. Andras Paldi
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Correspondence to Andras Paldi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy

    Mariano Bizzarri

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Racine, L., Paldi, A. (2024). Understanding Cell Differentiation Through Single-Cell Approaches: Conceptual Challenges of the Systemic Approach. In: Bizzarri, M. (eds) Systems Biology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2745. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3577-3_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3577-3_10

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-3576-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-3577-3

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