Stem Cells and their Potential Uses. Flashcards
Define stem cell.
Unspecialised cell able to express all of its genes and divide by mitosis.
What are stem cells?
Undifferentiated cells, capable of becoming any type of cells in the organism.
Define pluripotent.
Able to make many cells.
What are stem cells used for?
For growth and repair
What are the four types of stem cells?
Embryonic stem cells
Stem cells in the umbilical cord blood
Adult stem cells
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells)
Where are embryonic cells found?
Present in an early embryo formed when the zygote begins to divide.
Where are adult stem cells found?
In developed tissues such as blood, brain, muscle, bone, adipose (fat storage) tissues and skin.
What do adult cells do among differentiated cells?
They act as a repair system because they are renewing a source of undifferentiated cells.
Where are iPS cells from?
They are developed in laboratories.
How are iPS cells made?
By reprogramming differentiated cells to switch on certain key genes and become undifferentiated.
Stem cells from bone marrow (bone marrow transplants) are already extensively used to treat what?
Diseases of the blood such as sickle-cell anaemia and leukaemia.
Immune diseases for example severe combine immunodeficiency or SCID.
How is bone marrow stem cell used to restore patients blood after cancer treatment?
The patients bone-marrow cells can be obtained before treatment, stored and then put back inside the patient after treatment.
How can stem cells be used in drug testing?
If human tissue is able to be made through stem cells, then new drugs can be tested first on these rather than animal tissue.
What can scientists observe by creating specific cell types?
They can learn how those cells function and see what goes wrong when they are diseased.
How have mice been treated for type 1 diabetes?
By programming iPS cells to become pancreatic beta cells.
Bone-marrow stem cells could be used to treat what?
Liver disease by developing them into hepatocytes.
What could stem cells who have been directed towards nerve tissue treat?
Alzheimer and Parkinson disease or to repair spinal cord injuries.
What is regenerative medicine?
When stem cells are used to populate a bioscaffold pf an organ, and then directed to develop and grow into specific organs for transplanting.
What is the benefit of regenerative medicine?
Immunosuppressant drugs would not be needed.
List conditions that stem cells may be able to treat in the future. (6)
Arthritis Strokes Burns Vision and hearing loss Duchenne muscular dystrophy Heart disease
