Stem cells Flashcards
Name 5 possible fates of stem cells
- symmetric division –> 2 stem cells (stem cell expansion)
- asymmetric division –> 1 stem cell and 1 differentiated cell (homeostasis)
- symmetric division –> 2 differentiated cells (mature cell expansion and stem cell depletion) –> loss of stem cell pool; cannot do that indefinitely.
- Quiescence (“hang around”)
- Apoptosis (low rate)
What are the phases of mitosis?
G1 phase: Cells increase in size, produce RNA and synthesize different proteins. An important cell cycle control mechanism activated during this period (G1 checkpoint) ensures that everything is ready for DNA synthesis
G0: Cells can leave the cycle and quit dividing (quiescent). This may be temporary resting (e.g. liver cell) or more permanent (e.g. cells that have reached an end stage of development and will no longer divide (e.g. nerve cells in the brain))
Synthesis phase: DNA replication
G2 phase: The cell will continue to grow and produce new proteins for cell division. At the end of this gap is another control checkpoint (G2 checkpoint) to determine if the cell can now proceed to enter mitosis and divide
Mitosis
What is the interphase of mitosis
G1 + S + G2
Name a case in which stem cell differentiation is reversible
Plants, amphibians can grow entire new limbs if they lose them! (e.g. differentiated cells can go back to being stem cells)
Name a case in which differentiation is partially reversible
Humans. Cells can be put under specific conditions in the lab and return to earlier cell type.
Name 4 types of stem cells
- Zygotes (fertilized eggs)
- Embryonic stem cells (Inner cell mass of blastocyst)
- Adult stem cells
- In vitro stem cells
Explain the particularities of zygotes as stem cells
- Totipotent (can make any cell of body)
- 2 divisions (8 cells) required to make an entire human organism
Stops being totipotent at the 4rth cell stage
Explain the particularities of embryonic stem cells
- Pluripotent, self-renewing potential ++
- Blastocysts (Human 4-5 days gestation; mice 3.5 days)
Explain the particularities of adult stem cells
- Multipotent, self-renewing potential
- e.g. hematopoietic stem cells, satellite cells (muscles)
Explain the particularities of organ cells
Limited potential for self-renewal
Progenitor cells –> commited progenitor –> differentiated (no division, functional)
What is plasticity?
The ability of an adult stem cell from one tissue to generate the specialized cell type(s) of another tissue
Differentiate embryonic vs adult stem cells
Embryonic:
- Derived from embryo (blastocyst)
- Most primitive
- Can form most cell types
- Abundant, easy to grow
Adult:
- Derived from adult tissues
- more organ specific (e.g. muscle, brain, blood)?
- Can form only one (tissue of origin) or few cell types (plasticity)
- Rare in tissues, difficult to isolate and grow
Name the genes involved in iPS induction
Oct3/4
Sox2
Klf4
c-Myc, N-Myc, Lin28, Nanog
Name ways in which adult stem cells can cure disease or improve recovery.
- Adult stem cells can promote recovery from spinal cord injury (rat)
- Can repair heart damage (mouse)
- Tissue-engineered autologous bladders for patients needing cystoplasty (human)
- Beta-globin gene transfer to human bone marrow for sickle cell disease
What are induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)?
- Recent discovery; paper published in 2006
- Shinya Yamanaka and John B. Gurdon
- Used a combination of transcription factors (e.g. Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc, Klf4) in somatic cells (e.g. muscle, hair..) and created an iPSC.
- Could give rise to different cell types
- Easier to do with adult/progenitor cells vs fully differentiated cells (less steps)
What are the steps in creating a iPSC cell with a somatic cell?
- Inhibition of somatic regulators + induction of proliferation
- Activation of pluripotency loci + inhibition of senescence and apoptosis pathways
- acquisition of factor independance + Immortalization
- complete reprogramming (telomeres, X chromosome, memory erasure)
* Cells eventually become independent of cocktail of transcription factors
Name pros and cons of ESCs
PROS
- Low cost
- Established and characterized
- New lines being made
- Efficient differentiation
- Realistic HLA spectrum
- MHC down-regulation possible
CONS
- Embryo destruction
- Limited: blastocysts days 5-14
- Difficult obtention
- Mutation rate
- Incomplete histories
- Animal pathogen exposure
- Immunosuppressants
- Tissue rejection
- Carcinogenic risk
Name pros and cons of iPSCs
PROS
- No ethical issues
- Any cell type (in theory)
- Easy to obtain
- Blood group compatibility
- HLA histocompatibility
- Disease modelling possible
- Drug/toxicity profiles possible
CONS
- Additional cost
- Retroviral gene delivery
- Oncogene activation risk
- Mutagenesis risk
- Mechanism unknown
- Retention of alterations
- Suboptimal standardization
Name ways in which iPSCs can be used in therapy and research
- Drug screening
- Disease modes and mechanism of disease
- Teratology
- Cell therapy/Tx of patient
Explain the clinical trial that used iPSCs for macular degeneration
Took skin cells and reprogrammed them into iPCS cells –> differentiated into Retinal pigmental epithelium sheet
Removal of Abnormal blood vessels and old retinal pigmental epithelium from eye
–> put new RPE into eyes of donor (autologous RPE transplant)
Explain the clinical trial that used iPSCs for macular degeneration
Took skin cells and reprogrammed them into iPCS cells –> differentiated into Retinal pigmental epithelium sheet
Removal of Abnormal blood vessels and old retinal pigmental epithelium from eye
–> put new RPE into eyes of donor (autologous RPE transplant) = less rejection problem
Explain the self-renewal of satellite cells
Satellite cells are muscle stem cells
If engrafting a donor muscle myofiber with satellite cells, the muscles can regrow.
Which type of stem cell has been the first one to be characterized in details?
Hematopoietic stem cells
Name 2 clinical uses of hematopoietic stem cells
Bone marrow transplantation
Gene therapy