Specialized Tissues, Stem Cells, and Tissue Renewal I: Maintenance and Renewal of Skin Flashcards
What are the characteristics of stem cells?
- Not terminally differentiated.
- Can divide without limit.
- Undergo slow division.
- When divide gives rise to 1 cell with stem cell characteristics and the other with the ability to be differentiated.
True or False:
Stem cells are tissue specific.
True
(e.g., epidermal stem cells, intestinal stem cells, etc…)
In the maintenance of stem cells, how is a steady pool of stem cell population remained?
Precisely 50% of daughter cells must remain as stem cells.
In the maintenance of stem cells, what is asymmetric division?
Creates 2 cells:
- one with stem cell characteristics
- another with the ability to differentiate
In the maintenance of stem cells, what is independent choice?
Division makes 2 identical cells but the outcome is stochastic and/or influenced by the environment.
This type of division creates 2 cells, one with stem cell characteristics and another with the ability to differentiate?
Asymmetric Division
What is the term given to a stem cell division that makes 2 identical cells but the outcome is stochastic and/or influenced by environment?
Independent Choice
What is the drawback to the asymmetric division hypothesis?
Cannot explain how existing stem cells increase their numbers.
What can the independent choice hypothesis explain?
Explains the sharp increase in stem cell numbers when needed for repair.
Which of the hypotheses, asymmetric division or independent choice, is more flexible?
Independent choice is more flexible.
True or False:
In the maintenance of stem cells, environment may influence batches of cells and does not have to be 50:50 for every division.
True
True or False:
Each organ/tissue has fixed number of founder cell populations programmed to have fixed number of divisions.
True
What are founder cell populations programmed to have?
A fixed number of divisions.
What controls founder stem cells?
Short range signals that operate for a few hundred cell diameters.
What do founder stem cells define the size of?
Large final structures (organ/tissues).
Does each organ/tissue have a fixed number of founder stem cells?
Yes
True or False:
Short-range signals determine founder stem-cell populations during development.
True
True or False:
Founder stem-cell populations stay small and transit amplifying divisions let them generate and renew a big adult structure.
True
In which phase of the cell cycle do cells take up BrdU label?
S phase of cell cycle.
Why do stem cells retain BrdU label for a long time?
> Due to slow rate of division.
Also, could be due to asymmetric segregation of their DNA.
after division one of the daughter cells gets all the original DNA strands from all the chromosomes - this daughter cell will retain stem cell characteristics
What is a way to prevent genetic errors in stem cells?
> After division one of the daughter cells gets all the original DNA strands from all the chromosomes.
> This daughter cell will retain stem cell characteristics.
> Original strand of DNA preserved in stem cells from generation to generation.
> Second cell gets the newly synthesized strand.
this is a way to prevent genetic errors in the stem cell
this is called the - Immortal Strand Hypothesis
What is the hypodermis?
Fatty subcutaneous layer.