| ISSN |
1948-0210 (online) |
| Open Access |
This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright |
©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. |
| Article Reprints |
For details, please visit: http://www.wjgnet.com/bpg/gerinfo/247
|
| Permissions |
For details, please visit: http://www.wjgnet.com/bpg/gerinfo/207
|
| Publisher |
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA |
| Website |
http://www.wjgnet.com |
| Category |
Cell & Tissue Engineering |
| Manuscript Type |
Review |
| Article Title |
Cell-cell fusion and stem cell plasticity: Emerging paradigms in tissue regeneration
|
| Manuscript Source |
Invited Manuscript |
| All Author List |
Ji-Seob Kim, In-Sun Hwang, Seo-Jeong Kim, Min-Hee Moon, Hae-Dam Park, Byeong Ho Jin, Da Young Kim, Min Ji Lee, Seyun Eum, Seojin Yoo and Byung-Hyun Cha |
| ORCID |
|
| Funding Agency and Grant Number |
| Funding Agency |
Grant Number |
| National Research Foundation of Korea Grant |
RS-2023-00277856 |
| Korea Health Technology R&D Project Through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) |
RS-2025-24535069 |
|
| Corresponding Author |
Byung-Hyun Cha, Assistant Professor, PhD, Department of Biomedical System Science, Division of Biomedical Convergence, College of Biomedical Science, Kangwon National University, 1 Kangwondaehak-gil, Chuncheon-si 24341, Kangwon-do, South Korea. bhcha@kangwon.ac.kr |
| Key Words |
Cell fusion; Stem cells; Fusogen; Heterokaryon; Synkaryon; Regenerative therapy; Tissue regeneration |
| Core Tip |
This review summarizes the status quo of cell-cell fusion across development, regeneration, and disease. We highlight key topics including membrane merger mechanisms, tissue-specific fusogens, and microenvironmental cues that influence fusion competence and post-fusion behavior. Stem cell-somatic cell fusion presents a dual-edged opportunity: Fusion-derived heterokaryons (multinuclear cells) and synkaryons (nuclear-mixed hybrids) may enhance repair and plasticity, yet raise safety concerns including genomic instability and unintended fusion events. Major progress has clarified core fusion stages and identified physiological fusogens, but critical problems remain in vivo gating, fate/stability prediction, and pathological risks (malignant hybrids, viral syncytia). |
| Publish Date |
2026-05-25 07:47 |
| Citation |
Kim JS, Hwang IS, Kim SJ, Moon MH, Park HD, Jin BH, Kim DY, Lee MJ, Eum S, Yoo S, Cha BH. Cell-cell fusion and stem cell plasticity: Emerging paradigms in tissue regeneration. World J Stem Cells 2026; 18(5): 118307 |
| URL |
https://www.wjgnet.com/1948-0210/full/v18/i5/118307.htm |
| DOI |
https://dx.doi.org/10.4252/wjsc.v18.i5.118307 |
