cells alive 7- stem cells

Question 1

what are stem cells?

Answer 1

a cell that has the ability to continuously divide and differentiate into various other kinds of cells/tissues

Question 2

what are the 3 types of stem cell?

Answer 2

• totipotent
• pluripotent
• mulitopotent

Question 3

what are totipotent stem cells?

Answer 3

each cell can develop into a new individual cell

Question 4

what are pluripotent stem cells?

Answer 4

cells can form any cell type

Question 5

what are mulitpotent stem cells?

Answer 5

cells differentiated, but can form a number of other tissues

Question 6

what are the stages of embryogenesis?

Answer 6

• cleavage: 2 cells
• 8 cell stage: totipotent
• blastocyst: have pluripotent stem cels
• blastocyst inner mass cells

Question 7

once cells are fully differentiated what are they called and what does this mean?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

what is meant by stem cell niche?

Answer 8

• area of the tissue in which the stem cells reside in a quiescent (dormant) status, they arent doing anything
• cell to cell and cell to ECM interaction influence the fate of these stem cells
• These stem cells will get signals when they stem cells are needed
• maintenance of quiescence
• self renewal
• differentiation

Question 9

name the locations of stem cell niches

Answer 9

• bone marrow
• skin
• central nervous system
• gut
• muscle

Question 10

what is differentiation?

Answer 10

process by a cell become specialised

Question 11

where are stem cell niches found in bone marrow?

Answer 11

near osteoblastic lining

Question 12

where are stem cell niches found in skin?

Answer 12

in bulge of hair follicle

Question 13

what do we know about stem cell niches in central nervous system?

Answer 13

in the brain, dont really know much about them/where they are or what they do

Question 14

what are stem cells called in the muscle? what do we know about them?

Answer 14

• satellite cells
• not very prone to differentiating

Question 15

what do we know about stem cell niches in the gut?

Answer 15

• in epithelium
• found in the crypt
• replaced frequently

Question 16

what do we know about molecular pathways to do with stem cells?

Answer 16

• there are many pathways and modulation of growth factors that are involved in determining stem cell fate
• depending on the stem cell niche you want you need different factors
• you need activation of a specific pathway which will then give you the cell

Question 17

what do we know about the reactivation of stem cells?

Answer 17

the most potent event promoting adult stems self-renewal and differentiation is TISSUE DAMAGE, to ultimately promote the repair of the tissue and re- establish of tissue homeostasis

Question 18

what are embryonic stem cells?

Answer 18

• derived from donated IVF embyos
• can be grown indefinitely in the lab in an unspecialised state
• they retain the ability to specialise into many different tissue types- known as pluripotent
• can restore function in animal models following transplantation

Question 19

cloning for agricultural purposes?

Answer 19

reproducing the best breed
- disease resistant
- suitability to climate
- quality body type
- fertility
- market preference
- food?

Question 20

therapeutic role of stem cells?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

induced pluripotent stem cells

Answer 21

• starting cells from donor tissue can be induced to change gene expression resulting in pluripotent stem cells
  can create stem cells directly from a patient for research