STEM CELLS

SD Jacinto

Bio 1
Institute of Biology UP Diliman

Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions

All about stem cells

Unspecialized cells
Capable of renewing themselves for long

periods by cell division Under special conditions can be induced to differentiate into many types of cells with different functions (e.g. myocardiocytes, insulin producing cells) 2 types

Embryonic and Adult

Important Areas of Research

Why embryonic stem cells proliferate for a year

or more in the lab w/out differentiating but most adult stem cells cannot What are the factors in living organisms that normally regulate stem cell proliferation and self renewal What are the signals in mature organism causing stem cells to proliferate and remain unspecialized until the cells are needed for repair of a specific tissue
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics3.asp

Important Areas of Research (contd)

Are

signals for differentiation similar for all stem cell types Can specific signals be identified that promote differentiation into specific cell types

Embryonic stem cell (ESC) research

E stem cells are derived from ICM blastocysts of in

vitro fertilization Tested to measure fundamental properties

E.g. morphological stability, presence of molecular surface markers, chromosomal number, viability after freezing and thawing, pluripotency

ESC and directed differentiation

By changing chemical composition of culture

medium, alter the surface of culture dish or make transgenic cells If directed differentiation is reliable and reproducible, ESC can be used to treat certain diseases in the future e.g. Parkinsons disease, traumatic spinal cord injury, Purkinje cells degeneration, Duchennes muscular dystrophy, heart disease and vision and hearing loss

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics3.asp

Adult Stem Cell (ASC) research

Also called somatic stem cells Undifferentiated cells found among differentiated

cells in a tissue or organ

Can renew itself Can differentiate to yield major specialized cell types of the tissue or organ 1o role is to maintain and repair Origin is unknown

Adult Stem Cell (ASC) research (contd)

Research in mice showed that brain has stem

cells that can differentiate into connective tissue cells and neurons Plasticity was also discovered

http://stemcells.nih.gov/staticresources/info/scireport/PDFs/chapter8.pdf

Where ASC are found

Brain, bone marrow, peripheral blood, blood vessels,

skeletal muscles, skin and liver ASC occur in very small number in each tissue; are quiescent for many years until they are called to duty during injury or disease

Potential Uses of SC
May yield information about events occurring

during human development May yield information on how diseases arise and may suggest new strategies for therapy Used for drug screening Generation of cells and tissues to be used for cell based therapy

Relevant alternatives
The case of the induced pluripotent stem cells Cord blood banking

iPSC

http://www.google.com.ph/imgres?imgurl=http://www.medgadget.com/archives/img/768768ccs.jpg&imgrefurl=http://karthikkn.wordpress.com/20 10/07/24/induced-pluripotent-stem-cells-ips-cells-rewindreprogram-andreplace/&h=473&w=468&sz=58&tbnid=mxcftLsiNU8LzM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dinduced%2Bpluripotent%2Bstem%2B cells&zoom=1&q=induced+pluripotent+stem+cells&hl=en&usg=__647dquEKjGNl5DLiHRS2f0E2Pig=&sa=X&ei=AZuhTPXkFofyvQOizNjgAw&v ed=0CDcQ9QEwBA

To be useful for transplant purposes, stem cells must be reproducibly made to:
Proliferate extensively and generate sufficient quantities of tissue. Differentiate into the desired cell type(s). Survive in the recipient after transplant. Integrate into the surrounding tissue after transplant. Function appropriately for the duration of the recipient's life. Avoid harming the recipient in any way.

: www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/ primer.htm

Oocytes/spermatozoa from stem cells

Possible issues for and against
In a development that could alter the ethical landscape surrounding human embryonic stem (ES) cells, scientists have found that mouse ES cells can develop into oocytes in culture dishes. It is not yet clear whether the cells can be fertilized and develop into embryos. But if so, and if human ES cells turn out to have similar powers, such cells might allow researchers to get around some of the expense and ethical questions that arise from using donated eggs for therapeutic cloning experiments.
http://www.vetscite.org/publish/items/001224/index.html

: easyweb.easynet.co.uk/ ~sfl/rlb_stem.htm

The Woo Suk Hwang fraud

From National University of Seoul-faked

production of human cloned embryo Faked production of 11 patient tailored cell lines from embryonic clones

Thats all for now