Stem Cells Flashcards
Embryonic Stem Cells
Pluripotent/Undifferentiated cells. -Not Specialized
- Made from the union of egg and sperm cell
- Very generic cell. Doesn’t do anything but divide. It makes more copies of itself.
- As they continue to divide they start to undergo differentiation.-Becoming more specialized.
What are Embryonic Stem Cells made from?
Union of egg and sperm cell
What 4 general tissue categories do Embryonic Stem Cells become?
- Nervous
- Muscle
- Epithelial
- Connective
Fully Differentiated Stem Cells
They have matured and become what they need to be.
-when they finally become a nervous, muscle, epithelial, or connective tissue.
Terminally Differentiated
No longer able to divide and make more of themselves.
-Nervous and some muscle tissues are this way.
3 Unique characteristics of Embryonic Stem Cells
- Unspecialized
- Capable of dividing and renewing for long periods
- Proliferation - Can give rise to specialized cell types
- differentiation
What are potential uses of stem cells?
- Cancer Research
- Birth Defects
- Testing new Drugs
- Cell Based Therapies
- Parkinsons, Alzheimer, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, burns, Diabetes(type 1)…
Where do embryonic Stem Cells come from?
- Derived from embryos
- Fertilized invitro
- 4-5 days old
- about 30 cells
- They are leftover from fertility clinics that have been donated to research.
- Can be found in the umbilical cord
- Grown in cell cultures
Adult Stem Cells
- Undifferentiated cell found among differentiated cells.
- Can differentiate to major cell types of that tissue where they found it.
Advantages of Stem Cells
- Embryonic Stem cells truly pluripotent
- Embryonic Stem Cells are easy to grow/plentiful
- Cultured Adult Stem Cells are readily accepted back into the donor.
Disadvateges of Stem Cells
- Adult Stem Cells are rare in tissue and are not easily cultured.
- Immune system rejection of cultured embryonic stem cells
