Stem cell technology
Lecture No.9
By
Dr. Bushra Mohammed-Amin Mohammed
What is Stem cells ?
• Stem cells are a special type of cells .
• Stem cells are found in almost all tissues of the
body and they are needed for the
maintenance of tissue as well as for repair
after injury. Depending on where the stem
cells are, they can develop into different
tissues. For example, hematopoietic stem
cells reside in the bone marrow and can
produce all the cells that function in the blood.
Stem cells also can become brain cells, heart
muscle cells, bone cells or other cell types.
Stem cells: The body's master cells
Basic Characteristics of stem cells
• The classical definition of a stem
cell requires that it possess two
properties:
1. They are able to make more cells
like themselves. That is, they
self-renew.
2. And they can become other cells
that do different things in a
process known as differentiation.
Potential of Stem Cells (vocab)
• Cell potency is a cell's ability to differentiate into other cell types ,The more cell types a
cell can differentiate into, the greater its potency.
1-Totipotent (total):
Totipotent cells can form all the cell types in a body, plus the
extraembryonic, or placental, cells. Embryonic cells within the first couple of
cell divisions after fertilization are the only cells that are totipotent.
2-Pluripotent (plural):
Pluripotent cells can give rise to all 210 differentiated cell types that make
up the body; embryonic stem cells are considered pluripotent. What makes
pluripotent stem cells so potent is their ability to form all three of the basic
body layers (ectoderm/endoderm/mesoderm) and even germ cells.
3-Multipotent (multiple):
Multipotent cells can develop into more than one cell type, but are more limited than
pluripotent cells; adult stem cells and placental cord blood stem cells are considered
multipotent.
Morula cells :Generates every cell in the body
including the placenta and extra-embryonic tissues
Can form the entire human being
Totipotent = zygote and 4-8 blastomeres
Cannot form the entire human being Can generate every cell in the body except placenta and
extra-embryonic tissues
Pluripotent = inner cell mass, “ESC”
Multipotent
Become specific cell types;
are less flexible than above
Stem Cell Potential
Cell Type Description Examples
Each cell can develop Cells from 1-4 day
Totipotent into a new individual old embryos
Cells can form any cell Some cells of
Pluripotent type blastocyst
(5-14 days old)
Cells differentiated, but Fetal tissue,
Multipotent can form a number of cord blood, and
other tissues adult stem cells
Three types of Stem Cells
1-Embryonic
Obtained from in vitro fertilization, or aborted embryos
3 or 4 day old embryo; blastocyst stage ,causing ethical dilemmas.
2-Adult
Found among some differentiated cells in a specific tissue or organ;
placental cord; baby teeth, bone mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in
bone marrow, neural progenitors in brain, and hair follicular stem cells
3- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
in hair follicles.
•In November 2007, scientists announced they had taken human adult stem cells
and reprogrammed them.
•They got them to behave like true embryonic cells.
•In the future this could provide a source of pluripotent cells without causing
ethical dilemmas.
1-Embryonic stem cells (ESC)
• Embryonic stem (ES) cell lines are cultures of cells derived from the earlier
morula stage embryos.
• A blastocyst is an early stage embryo—approximately four to five days old
in humans and consisting of 50–150 cells.
• ES cells are pluripotent and give rise during development to all derivatives of
the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm.
• In other words, they can develop into each of the more than 200 cell types
of the adult body when given sufficient and necessary stimulation for a
specific cell type.
• They do not contribute to the extra-embryonic membranes or the placenta.
Development of the
Human
Preimplantation
Blastocyst
2- Adult stem cells
• Also known as somatic stem cells and germline (giving rise to
gametes) stem cells, they can be found in children, as well as adults.
• Pluripotent adult stem cells are rare and generally small in number but
can be found in a number of tissues including umbilical cord blood.
• These stem cells have been found in tissues such as the brain, bone
marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin, and the liver.
• Adult stem cells are Hard to extract and culture
• Human SC are less than 1 in 15,000 in bone marrow cells
• Transplants work very well, however Mammary, neural, muscle, others
all being worked on
3-Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)
• These are not adult stem cells, but rather adult cells
(e.g. epithelial cells) reprogrammed to give rise to
pluripotent capabilities.
• Using genetic reprogramming with protein transcription factors,
pluripotent stem cells equivalent to embryonic stem cells have
been derived from human adult skin tissue
• Shinya Yamanaka and his colleagues at Kyoto University/Japan
used the transcription factors Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4 in
their experiments on cells from human faces. These genes turn
OFF genes that are present in differentiated fibroblasts and turn
ON genes that maintain pluripotency.
Induced pluripotent stem cells
Compare Stem Cell Types
Expected lifespan Potency Source Developmental
in tissue culture Stage
Human Immortal: Pluripotent, Made from the The blastocyst
Embryonic they divide capable of inner cell mass forms very early
Stem Cells of a blastocyst. in development,
(hESCs)
endlessly in making any between 2 and 4
culture. cell or tissue days.
in the body.
Adult Stem Life span is Multipotent: Found in Develop during
Cells (Tissue- limited, and They are organs and the fetal stage,
specific stem tissues of the and persist
cells:
depends on “lineage body, such as throughout
hematopoietic the type of restricted”, heart, bone, fat, adulthood.
, neural, adult stem and make brain, and liver.
pancreatic, cell. only specific
etc.) types of cells.
Induced Immortal: iPS cells are In theory, any Any somatic or
Pluripotent they appear to thought to be somatic or body body cell can be
Why is there such an interest in stem cells?
Researchers are studying stem cells to see if they can help to:
1. grow new cells in a laboratory to replace damaged organs or tissues.
For example to treat Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injury,
stroke, severe burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and
some others diseases.
2. correct parts of organs that don't work properly.
3. To know the causes of genetic defects in cells.
4. To know how diseases occur or why certain cells develop into cancer
cells.
5. To test new drugs for safety and effectiveness. Before giving drugs in
development to people, researchers can use some types of stem
cells to test the drugs for safety and quality.
