Stem Cells

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Stem Cells
http//www.dnalc.org/resources/animations/stemcell
s.html
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Objectives

• What are stem cells?
• What are the different types and where do they
  come from?
• What are the potential new medical treatments
  using stem cells?
• What research is needed to make such treatments a
  reality?

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What are stem cells?

• Remarkable potential to develop into different
  cell types
• As each new cell divides it has potential to
  remain a stem cell or another specialized cell
  like muscle, RBC or brain cell.
• May serve as an internal repair system Divide
  without limit

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Different from other cell types

1. They are unspecialized cells capable of renewing
   themselves thru cell division
2. They can be induced to become tissue or
   organ-specific with special fxns

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Types of Stem Cells

• Embryonic stem cells
• Somatic or adult stem cells
• 2006, induced pluripotent stem cells

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Embryonic stem cells

• Pluripotent capacity to become ANY cell
• Grow easy in culture
• Large numbers are easily harvested

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IPSCs

• First human cells introduced in lab in 2007
• Genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem
  cell like state by being forced to express genes
• Demonstrate the ability to be pluripotent

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Adult Stem Cells

• Found in brain, bone marrow, blood, skeletal
  muscle, skin, heart, liver, ovaries and testis
• Once removed from body, Capacity to divide is
  limited
• Trying to figure out how to regenerate in large
  quantities to use
• Rare in mature tissue
• Not supported yet, but less likely to be rejected

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Why do we have stem cells?

• Blastocyst inner cells give rise to entire body
• Bone marrow generate replacements for cells
  that are lost thru injury, disease or normal wear
  and tear.

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What is the potential new medical treatments
using stem cells?

• Offer potentials for treating diseases like
  diabetes, heart disease, Parkinsons and
  Alzheimer's

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• Screen new drugs
• Develop model systems to study normal growth and
  id causes of birth defects.

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A new treatment strategy that specifically
targets cancer stem cells, when combined with
current treatments, may lead to a more complete
and durable regression of malignant cancers.
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• Continues to advance knowledge about how an
  organism develops from a single cell and how
  healthy cells replace damaged cells

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What research is needed to make such treatments a
reality?

• Number and type of adult stem cells that exist.
  What tissues contain
• How they evolve during development
• How do stem cells remain in undifferentiated
  state, but other cells around them are
  differentiated?
• Donor specificity
• Factors that stimulate stem cells to relocate to
  sites of injury?

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• If you had in vitro fertilization perform and as
  a result have frozen embryos remaining, what
  would you do with them?
• Why?
• What do you need to know to help you make an
  informed decision?
• Support your argument with details from the
  article, Frozen Dreams, What you have learned
  in class and outside research you have done on
  stem cells.