Stem Cells

Question 1

somatic cells

Answer 1

cell of the body other than the egg or sperm

Question 2

somatic cell nuclear transfer

Question 3

stem cells

Answer 3

-cells that have the ability to divide for indefinite periods, self-renew, and give rise to specialized cells (and tissues)

Question 4

totipotent/omnipotent/pluripotent

Answer 4

• unlimited capacity to specialize into any and all cell types or tissues
• technically pluripotent should not be synonymous but has become so in common use

Question 5

multipotent

Answer 5

-capable of giving rise to many/several cell types

Question 6

progenitor cell

Answer 6

• cells that are committed to differentiate

- they are not self-renewing in the classic sense but are still highly useful in regenerative medicine

Question 7

clone

Answer 7

-an organism, colony, or group of organisms (or colony of cells) derived from a single organism or cell by asexual reproduction, all having identical genetic constitution

Question 8

reproductive cloning

Answer 8

-cloning to produce a pregnancy that results in the birth of a baby

Question 9

therapeutic cloning

Answer 9

-cloning to produce an embryo for the collection of ES cells for treatment of disease, mechanistic studies, or toxicology studies

Question 10

somatic cell nuclear transfer

-why is this important

Answer 10

• isolate a mature, unfertilized egg (secondary oocyte), suck out the nucleus, and replace it with a donor diploid nucleus from some other cell type. Grow the egg into an addult
• this is important because it is how clones are made

Question 11

uses for cultured pluripotent stem cells

Answer 11

• drug development
• tissues/cells for therapy
• experiments to study development and gene control

Question 12

for what diseases is regenerative medicine hopeful in treating

Answer 12

• parkinsons
• diabetes
• beta thallasemia
• CVD
• spinal column injuries
• firs tspinal cord trials failed but CVD is showing come promise

Question 13

what is the source of ES cells in an embryo?

Answer 13

-ICM

Question 14

3 main sources of stem cells

Answer 14

• Es cells from the ICM of the blastocyst
• fetal umbilical cord blood
• adult tissues, including induced pluripotent stem cells

Question 15

what properties does a good stem cell have?

Answer 15

• survive liquid nitrogen freezing for many years
• survive and proliferate indefinitely in cell culture
• maintain stable and normal DNA and chromosomes
• differentiate predictably into many types of cells

Question 16

advantages of ES cells

Answer 16

• lower cost
• unlimited number
• pathogen free
• do not cause cancers
• immune rejection reduced

Question 17

adult stem cells

Answer 17

• found in most tissues
• few, if any ethical concerns
• can be isolated from cadavers
• iPS cells are as plastic as ES cells

Question 18

reprogramming cells to become iPS cells

Answer 18

• transfect/infect cells with 4-6 transcription factors
• these transcription factors will reset their genetic program to the ES cell state
• will need to rename these induced totipotent stem cells