Cellular differentiation, Stem cells and modern medicine

Question 1

what type of cells does an embryo begin with

Answer 1

a small number of naive, totipotent cells

Question 2

what are totipotent cells

Answer 2

type of cell that possesses the ability to differentiate into any cell type in an organism - both embryonic and extra embryonic

Question 3

what cells can embryonic stem cells give rise to

Answer 3

all cell types except trophectoderm/pluripotent

Question 4

what are pluripotent cells

Answer 4

type of cell possesses the ability to differentiate into any cell type of the body except those that support embryonic development

Question 5

a cells fate is progressively limited until when

Answer 5

it becomes terminally differentiated

Question 6

what type of cells can the cell give rise to after it becomes terminally differentiated

Answer 6

only the same type of cells

Question 7

what cells can still give rise to other cells after being terminally differentiated

Answer 7

• stem cells
• germ cells

Question 8

differentiated cells still contain enough DNA required to

Answer 8

build an entire new experiment

Question 9

where are embryonic stem cells harvested from

Answer 9

the inner cell mass (ICM) or future embryo of mammalian blastocyst embryos

Question 10

what type of cells are human embryo cells

Answer 10

pluripotent - they can develop into any of the 200 or so types of cell in our bodies, given the right conditions.

Question 11

what are the cells derived from the ESCs genetically identical 2

Answer 11

the embryo donor

Question 12

what are induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) made from

Answer 12

made by reprogramming adult skin cells

Question 13

what type of cell is iPSCs

Answer 13

they are pluripotent cells - can generate any cell type

Question 14

what type of cell are adult stem cells

Answer 14

they are undifferentiated multipotent cells that can divide without limit

Question 15

what are multipotent cells

Answer 15

cells that can divide and give rise to both stem cells and cells which will go on to differentiate into one or more (but not all) types of functional tissue cells

Question 16

how are umbilical cord stem cells obtained

Answer 16

stem cells from blood is isolated from the umbilical cord if newborn babies and kept frozen

Question 17

what type of cell are umbilical cord stem cells

Answer 17

multipotent cells as they are immature blood stem cells - they are less restricted blood cells than from adults

Question 18

what can umbilical cord stem cells be used to treat

Answer 18

used to treat leukemias and many other blood diseases

Question 19

what can adult stem cells be used for

Answer 19

can be used in tissue renewal

Question 20

why are stem cells important for tissues such as blood and skin

Answer 20

because they need constant renewing

Question 21

where can blood stem cells (hematopoietic stem cells) be found

Answer 21

can be found in the bone marrow and can be used for transplants

Question 22

what type of cell is a fertilized egg

Answer 22

totipotent - as it is able to give rise to all cell types via cell division

Question 23

what type of cell are embryonic stem cells

Answer 23

pluripotent - because they can become all/any cell in the body

Question 24

what type of cells are adult stem cells such as bone marrow cells

Answer 24

multipotent - because they can only give rise to one or a few cell types

Question 25

what does different culture conditions persuade stem cells to do

Answer 25

to develop into different kinds of differentiated cells

Question 26

what is integrated gene therapy

Answer 26

Integrative gene therapy is based on the idea that it may be possible to alter the genetic code of an individual’s cells.

Question 27

what was integrated gene therapy proposed for

Answer 27

a way to correct single gene disorders

Question 28

how does integrated gene therapy work

Answer 28

- a normal allele could be inserted into the cells of the affected tissue - a virus can deliver genetic material into human cells - CRISPR editing may also be used

Question 29

what is regenerative medicine

Answer 29

Regenerative medicine is based on the idea that pluripotent stem cells can be used to repair or replace damaged organs or tissues

Question 30

where can pluripotent stem cell be found for regenerative medicine

Answer 30

- a patient (genetically identical) - matched donors - embryos

Question 31

what can these pluripotent used for regenerative medicine be encouraged to do

Answer 31

differentiate into specific cell types such as neurons or retinal cells

Question 32

what are done with the cells once it has been differentiated for regenerative medicine

Answer 32

differentiated cells can be transplanted into patients