Stem Cells

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to stem cells, their properties, types, and therapeutic applications.

Stem Cells

Undifferentiated cells that can differentiate into diverse cell types.

Two essential properties of stem cells

Self-renewal and differentiation into specialized cell types.

Symmetric Cell Division

Cell division that results in two identical daughter cells.

Asymmetric Cell Division

Cell division that results in two different daughter cells, one stem cell and one committed cell.

Totipotent

Early-stage embryonic stem cells (ES) that can give rise to any adult cell type.

Cell Potency

The ability of a stem cell to differentiate into different cell types, decreasing as cells become more committed during embryonic development.

Pluripotent

Embryonic stem cells extracted from the blastocyst ICM that cannot form a placenta.

Multipotent

Adult stem cells residing in niches in many adult tissues.

Haematopoietic Stem Cells (HSC)

Adult stem cells residing in the bone marrow.

Autologous Stem Cells Therapy

Using the patient's own stem cells to treat the disease.

Adult Stem Cells (Multipotent)

Isolated and cultured from bone marrow and can differentiate into blood, neural, or muscle cells.

Embryonic Stem Cells (Pluripotent)

Isolated from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst and can be stimulated to differentiate into various cell types.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)

Adult cells that have been reprogrammed to resemble embryonic stem cells via overexpression of key genes.

Teratomas

Non-malignant tumors that can arise from pluripotent stem cells due to their high regenerative potential.