BOD L14 Stem cell biology Flashcards
What are the two major properties of stem cells?
Capacity to self-renew
Differentiate to produce progeny
What two purposes do these properties provide?
Maintainance of stem cell pool.
Replacement of dying cells throughout life
Where are totipotent stem cells found?
Inside the inner cell mass of a blastula.
What stem cells exist in adult animals?
Multipotent stem cells - able to differentiate into the cells that make up the tissue they are found within, not every cell in the body.
HSC found in bone marrow make all blood cells
What cells can neural stem cells produce?
What are the major types of stem cells?
HSC -haematopoietic
NSC - neural
GSC - gut
MSC - mesenchymal
What issues exist in using stem cells in treatment?
Need to ensure correct differentiation occurs.
In brain, astrocytes also formed from NSC, loss of function of brain as they do not function as neurones.
How can stem cells be obtained?
Using induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSs)
How are IPSCs made?
A specialised cell is trated with ‘stem-factors’ such as OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG, etc
What are the two different kinds of cloning?
Reproducive cloning.
Molecular cloning.
What is the stem cell niche?
The microenvironment around stem cells that provides signals to sustain the stem cell niche.
It sustains the phenotype of the stem cell.
Roughly how is stem cell differentiation controled?
The progeny of stem cells produce soluble factors which signal to stem cell to halt division, stopping more being produced.
Summary:
What are stem cells?
Undifferentiated cells that are capable of self-renewal and differentiation.
They are the original of all cells within the body.
They can be embryonic or tissue specific.
Can be induced by genetic reprogramming.
Their function is tightly regulated by a many factors within the stem cell niche.
They are used for several clinical applications such as stem cell therapy.
