CELS191 Lecture 26: Cellular Differentiation, Stem Cells & Modern Medicine

Flashcards covering key concepts related to cellular differentiation, stem cells, and their applications in modern medicine, based on lecture notes.

What is the basic principle of embryonic development?

Cells divide, rearrange, and specialize to form organs.

How do cells differentiate during embryonic development?

An embryo begins as a small number of naive, totipotent cells. Cell fate is progressively limited until terminally differentiated.

What makes a stem cell special?

They can divide without limit, are undifferentiated, multipotent, and can differentiate into one or more types of functional tissue cells.

What are the key differences between adult and embryonic stem cells?

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent and can develop into any of the 200 cell types. Adult stem cells are multipotent and have a more limited differentiation potential.

Why are stem cells important in modern medicine?

Stem cells can be used in regenerative medicine to repair or replace damaged organs/tissues and in gene therapy to correct single-gene disorders.

What happens to cells during embryo development regarding specialization?

Cells become more specialized and less flexible during development, except for stem cells and germ cells.

What is the role of adult stem cells in tissue maintenance?

Adult stem cells act to replace growing or worn-out tissues by dividing continuously to produce one to a few different types of new differentiating cells.

What is the differentiation potential of embryonic stem cells?

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent and can give rise to any cell type in the organism if given the right instructional cues.

How can stem cells be used in gene therapy?

Stem cells can be edited or used with gene therapy to 'fix' genetic diseases, as the corrections to the DNA are passed on to all daughter cells.

What is another application of stem cells in medicine beyond gene therapy?

Stem cells can be used to create genetically identical or immune-compatible tissues for transplants.

What is the basic principle behind integrative gene therapy?

Integrative gene therapy alters the genetic code to correct single-gene disorders by inserting a normal allele.

How can a virus be used in gene therapy?

A virus can deliver genetic material into human cells to introduce corrected genes.

How was gene therapy successfully used to treat ß-thalassemia?

Blood stem cells in bone marrow were engineered to add a 'good' copy of the HBB gene to treat ß-thalassemia.

What is the basis of regenerative medicine using stem cells?

Pluripotent stem cells are used to repair or replace damaged organs or tissues in regenerative medicine.

How are pluripotent stem cells utilized in regenerative medicine for specific cell types?

Pluripotent stem cells can be made from skin cells and encouraged to differentiate into specific cells, like neurons or retinal cells.