Cell fusion and plasticity.

Cell plasticity is a central issue in stem cell biology. In many recent discussions, observation of cell fusion has been seen as a confounding factor which calls into question published results concerning cell plasticity of, particularly, adult stem cells. An examination of the voluminous literature of "somatic cell fusion" suggests the relatively frequent occurrence of "spontaneous" cell fusion and shows that the complicated cellular phenotypes which it can give rise to have long been recognized. Here, a brief overview of this field is presented, with emphasis on studies of special relevance to current work on cell plasticity.