Stem cell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to:navigation, search
Mouse embryonicstem cells with fluorescent marker.
Human Embryonic Stem cell colony on mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder layer.
Stem cells
arecellsfound in most, if not all, multi-cellular organisms. They are
characterized by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell divisionand
differentiatinginto a diverse range of specialized cell types. Research in the stem cellfield grew out of findings byCanadianscientistsErnest A. McCullochandJames E. Till
in the 1960s.
The two broad types of mammalian stem cells are:
tissues. Inadultorganisms, stem cells and progenitor cellsact as a repair system for the
body, replenishing specialized cells, but also maintain the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin or intestinal tissues.As stem cells can be grown and transformed into specialized cells with characteristicsconsistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves throughcell culture,their use inmedical therapieshas been proposed. In particular, embryoniccell lines,
autologousembryonic stem cells generated through therapeutic cloning, and highly
plastic adult stem cells from theumbilical cord bloodor bone marroware touted as
promising candidates.
Contents
•
o
o
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The classical definition of a stem cell requires that it possess two properties:
•
Self-renewal
- the ability to go through numerouscyclesof cell divisionwhile
maintaining the undifferentiated state.
•
Potency
- the capacity to differentiate into specialized cell types. In the strictestsense, this requires stem cells to be either
- to be able togive rise to any mature cell type, although
or
Pluripotent, embryonic stem cells originate as inner mass cells within a blastocyst. Thestem cells can become any tissue in the body, excluding a placenta. Only the morula'scells are totipotent, able to become all tissues and a placenta.
Potency
specifies the differentiation potential (the potential to differentiate into differentcell types) of the stem cell.
•
stem cells are produced from the fusion of an egg and sperm cell.Cells produced by the first few divisions of the fertilized egg are also totipotent.These cells can differentiate into embryonic and extraembryonic cell types.
•
stem cells are the descendants of totipotent cells and can differentiateinto cells derived from any of the threegerm layers.
•
stem cells can produce only cells of a closely related family of cells(e.g. hematopoietic stem cellsdifferentiate into red blood cells, white blood cells,
platelets, etc.).
•
cells can produce only one cell type, but have the property of self-renewal which distinguishes them from non-stem cells (e.g. muscle stem cells).
The practical definition of a stem cell is the functional definition - the ability toregenerate tissue over a lifetime. For example, the gold standard test for a bone marrowor hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) is the ability to transplant one cell and save anindividual without HSCs. In this case, a stem cell must be able to produce new bloodcells and immune cells over a long term, demonstrating potency. It should also be possible to isolate stem cells from the transplanted individual, which can themselves betransplanted into another individual without HSCs, demonstrating that the stem cell wasable to self-renew.Properties of stem cells can be illustrated
, using methods such as clonogenicassays, where single cells are characterized by their ability to differentiate and self-renew.
As well, stem cells can be isolated based on a distinctive set of cell surfacemarkers. However,
in vitro
culture conditions can alter the behavior of cells, making itunclear whether the cells will behave in a similar manner
. Considerable debateexists whether some proposed adult cell populations are truly stem cells.
Main article: Embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cell lines
(ES cell lines) are cultures of cells derived from the epiblast
tissue of theinner cell mass(ICM) of a blastocystor earlier morulastage embryos.
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Notes
Load more
