lecture 17 Flashcards
what do we mean when we talk about stem cells
stuff that happens in fully developed organism (has completed embryonic development)
is adult body static or dynamic
not static; in dynamic EQ; new cells are being born, differentiating, dying
stem cell
undifferentiated cell, analogous to undifferentiated embryonic cell that can become anything
what do stem cells do
continue to divide indefinitely
what happens if a cell can’t continuously divide
it’s not a stem cell
what do stem cells produce
daughter cells that either remain a stem cell or differentiate into like muscle, fat, blood etc.
what is self renewal
remains stem cell, as cell divides it’s always gonna produce at least one more stem cell, so you maintain stem cells
where are stem cells found body? specific areas or just randomly throughout
specific locations known as stem cell niches
stem cell niches
special physical and chem envs. that control, regulate stem cell division and differentiation
example of a stem cell niche
bone marrow (where white blood cells are born and differentiated)
what did people use to think before
no more cell division in an adult; all the cells needed as an adult were produced within embryo
how was this modified as time went on
maybe differentiated cells were capable of replenishing themselves, like if u hurt muscle, cells could produce more muscle cells
main assumption in 1940s
but DNA and protein synthesis would be hard to detect because it’s so rare [basically all the cells, DNA, proteins we need are already produced]
how do we know this isn’t true (how do we know adult body isn’t static)
Charles LeBlond
what did Leblond show
you can detect new DNA and protein synthesis in adults, AND stem cells are major reason why that occurs
what method did LeBlond develop to detect new protein and DNA synthesis in living tissue
radioautography
describe radioautography experiment
fed animals radioactive phosphorus followed by normal food, give it some time and cross-section animal
what were results of radioautography experiment
radioactivity can cause a rxn on photographic film to render an image –> can see a dark signal of where the radioactive phosphorous is
conclusion of radioautography experiment
radioactive phosphorus stuck around and is incorporated into cells, DNA, protein b/c we can see it on film (means that there is new DNA protein synthesis going on, otherwise it would’ve just passed through the body)
what is being detected in this radioautograph experiment, where is it being detected, what does it tell us?
radioactive phosphorus is being detected in bone marrow of leg, shows us where stem cells would be located in that tissue
was LeBlond’s results universally accepted
no, especially when results came out he got a lot of pushback
what is next discovery of LeBlodn
stem cells
how did he approach this experiment of stem cells
knew that stem cell would have a capacity for self-renewal (as it divided, exact same cell type would be left behind while differentiating cells continued) –> used a histological approach
did LeBlond use antibody staining or fluorescent stuff to detect stem cells
no