STEM CELLS

Question 1

what is a stem cell?

Answer 1

it is a cell that has the ability to continuously divide and differentiate (develop) into various other kinds of cells/tissues

Question 2

totipotent?

Answer 2

each cell can develop into a new individual cell

Question 3

which cells are totipotent stem cells?

Answer 3

cells from early embryos (1-3 days)

Question 4

pluripotent stem cells?

Answer 4

cells can form any cell type (over 200)

Question 5

which cells can become pluripotent stem cells?

Answer 5

some cells of blastocyst (5-14 days)

Question 6

multipotent stem cells?

Answer 6

cells differentiated but can form a number of other issues

Question 7

what cells can become multipotent stem cells?

Answer 7

fetal tissue, cord blood and adult stem cells

Question 8

slide 5 - stages of embryoneosis - images

Question 9

what are the four stages of embryogenesis?

Answer 9

cleavage, 8-cell stage, blastocyst and blastocyst inner mass cells

Question 10

what is the process for the formation of totipotent, pluripotent, multi-potent stem cells and then into fully mature cells?

Answer 10

fertilised egg –> totipotent –> blastocyst containing pluripotent SC –> hematopoeitic SCs, neural SCs, mesenchymal SCs (multipotent SCs) –> tissue specific SCs such as blood cells, cells of nervous system and connective tissue, bones, cartilage etc. - these are fully mature

Question 11

Once the cells are fully differentiated, what are they called?

Answer 11

they are unipotent
they can still replicate with limits but they will give rise only to cells with identical phenotypic characteristics

Question 12

what is the stem cell niche?

Answer 12

area of the tissue in which the stem cells reside in a quiescent (dormant) status

Question 13

what are the stimulis that trigger the stem cell niche?

Answer 13

humoral stimuli - nutrients and growth factors coming from the blood
humoral stimuli - molecules and soluble factors coming from the stroma
mechanical/structural stimuli - adhesion/interaction with ECM
neural stimuli - signals coming from surrounding tissues

Question 14

what interaction determine the fate of the stem cells in the stem cell niche?

Answer 14

cell-to-cell and cell-to-ECM interaction influence the fate

Question 15

location of stem cell niches?

Answer 15

bone marrow
skin
CNS
gut
muscle

Question 16

where do they reside in bone marrow? slide 10

Question 17

slide 15 and 16

Question 18

where are embryonic stem cells derived from?

Answer 18

derived from donated IVF embryos

Question 19

how can embryonic stem cells be grown?

Answer 19

can be grown indefinitely in the laboratory in an unspecialised state

Question 20

what ability do embryonic stem cells retain?

Answer 20

the ability to specialise into many different tissue types - known as pluripotent

Question 21

what can embryonic stem cells restore?

Answer 21

they can restore function in animal models following transplantation

Question 22

iPSC - derived from who and when?

Answer 22

from adult cells in 2007

Question 23

describe growth of induced pluripotent stem cells?

Answer 23

can be grown indefinitely in culture in an undifferentiated state

Question 24

what cells do induced pluripotent stem cells have similar properties to?

Answer 24

similar to embryonic stem cells as they can differentiate into many different tissue types - pluripotent

Question 25

what are the 3 therapeutic roles of stem cells in vet med?

Answer 25

treatment of musculoskeletal injuries in horses and dogs
preservation of endangered species
and generation of transgenic animals as biomedical models

Question 26

how do stem cells help with the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries in horses and dogs?

Answer 26

by injection of stem cells in the joint to promote tissue repair

Question 27

how do stem cells help with preservation of endangered species?

Answer 27

by preservation of the male germline: testis xenografting

Question 28

how do stem cells help with generation of transgenic animals as biomedical models?

Answer 28

production of bioactive molecules
understanding of gene function