Session 1: Basic Concepts Flashcards
regenerative medicine
it is the process of replacing, engineering, or regenerating human cells, tissues, or organs to restore or establish normal function
tissue engineering
an interdisciplinary field that applies engineering and life sciences principles to develop biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function
what does tissue engineering help us understand better
it helps us understand the functional principles of tissues at different levels of organizations
regeneration
the process wherby lost specialized tissue is replaced by proliferation of undamaged specialized cells, thought to be limited in humans to a few tissues
repair
the replacement of lost tissue by granulation tissue by granulation tissue which matures to form scar tissue, but doesn’t fully restore normal tissue structure & function
who is in charge of the approval of these products derived from tissue engineering and how are they regulated?
in the EU they are regulated and approved by the EMA(European Medicines Agency), through its Committee for Advanced Therapies and the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use
these products are considered as ATMPs (advanced therapy medicinal products)
how can atmps be classified
- gene therapy medicines
- somatic-cell therapy medicines
- tissue-engineered medicines
combined atmps
they are atmps that contain one or more medical devices as an integral part of the medicine
gene therapy medicines
contain genes that lead to a therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic effect
somatic-cell therapy medicines
contain cells or tissues that have been manipulated to change their biological characteristics or cells or tissues not intended to be used for the same essential functions in the body; can be used to cure, diagnose, or prevent diseases
tissue-engineered medicines
contain cells or tissues that have been modified so they can be used to repair, regenerate or replace human tissue
what is a cell
the smallest structural and fucntional unit of an organism, which is typically microscopic and consist of cytoplasm and nucleus enclose in a membrane
how do we know them?
throughout their behavior or function, which is shown as specific genes or proteins active
how many cell types exist
there are around 215 types of cells, among differentiated and stem cells and 4 types of tissues; each tissue is formed with a collection of specific cells
what are some cell type examples
fibroblasts, myoblasts, cardomyocytes, red blood cells, endothelial, neurons, hepatocytes, osteocytes, somatic, IPS, embryonic
stem cell
an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism which is capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type, and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation
what is the potency of a stem cell?
a measure of how many types of specialized cells a stem cell can make
what is cellular differentiation?
the process where a cell changes from one cell type to another; usually the cell changes to a more specialized type
stem cell to cellular potency
oocyte and sperm -> totipotent cell
blastocyst -> pluripotent cell
ectoderm/mesoderm/endoderm -> multipotent cell
neuron & epithelial cells/RBC & cardiomyocytes/liver & pancreas -> unipotent cell
what is a cellular lineage
it regard the developmental history of a differentiated cell as traced to the germ layer from which it arises and ends up in its mature phenotype
what are the three germ layers of the tri-laminar disk?
- ectoderm(outermost layer): epidermis, nervous, hair
- mesoderm(middle layer): blood, bone, muscle, cartilage
- endoderm(innermost layer): internal systems, mucosa membrane linning, glads, epithelium
what is the stem cell niche
specific anatomic location of a tissue that provides a specific microenvironment, in which stem cells are presen in an undifferentiated and self-renewable state
what is the cellular fate?
describes its future identity, or the identity of its daughter cells, before it is actually phenotypically detectable through differentiation or division
what is a cellular plasticity?
refers to the ability of some stem cells to give rise to cell types, formerly considered outside their normal repertoire of differentiation for the location where they are found
