Haematopoetic stem cell biology

Question 1

what is a stem cell?

Answer 1

A cell that can continuously produce unaltered daughters and also has the ability to produce daughter cells that have different more restricted properties.

Question 2

What is a progenitor cell?

Answer 2

Generic term for any dividing cell with the capacity to differentiate. Includes putative stem cells in which self renewal has not yet been demonstrated.

Question 3

without a surrogate marker for a stem cell, what experiment can be done to prove a cell is a stem cell?

Answer 3

Whether or not they can regenerate the tissue from which it arose over multiple engraftments

Question 4

What are the first hit mutations usually found in leukaemia?

Answer 4

Mutations that affect TFs

Question 5

Describe the natural history of a cancer clone

Answer 5

1. Cell in which first hit occurs must persist (must acquire capacity for self renewal - either native or acquired)
2. Cells in which first hit has biological impact (downstream of the first hit). These cells acquire a selective advantage and become pre-leukaemic, this pre-leukaemic clone is at risk of a second hit
3. second hit(s) transforms initiated cell into cancer stem cell which can functionally sustain/re-initiate the cancer clone
4. The tumour bulk, likely differentiated derivative has limited self renewal capacity.