Stem cells are usually identified based on markers such as CD34 for hematopoietic stem cells, or CD133 for cancer stem cells, or specific properties such as expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase. Interestingly, in this patent the morphological characteristics of the stem cell are covered !
The first claim states "a method for identifying a stem cell of interest or multinuclear syncytium of interest, wherein the syncytium of interest comprises one or more stem cell nuclei and, wherein the cell or syncytium is obtained from or contained in a cell culture, pre-neoplastic lesion, tumor sample or tissue sample, wherein the stem cell of interest or syncytium of interest is identified by visualizing nuclear morphology, wherein the stem cell or syncytium of interest comprises a heteromorphic nuclear morphotype."
I failed histology so I looked up "heteromorphic", it means "deviating from the usual form". So if the nucleus deviates from its normal form and the cell is in a syncytium of cells, then according to the claim it may be a stem cell. The dependent claims provide some clarity as to what exactly unusual is for a nucleus... "bell-shaped, cigar-shaped, condensed spherical, spherical, oval, sausage-shaped, kidney-shaped and bullet-shaped"
What use would there be for such a patent? well, as the dependent claims state, maybe you want to use laser capture microdissection to pull out stem cells and do global RT-PCR to find "cancer stem cell genes". In any case this is a patent for which the prosecution history must have been very interesting !!
View this patent on the USPTO website.
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