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02: What are Stem Cells?
A stem cell is defined as a cell that has the ability to simultaneously divide mitotically and differentiate down organ-specific cell lineages. Stem cells lose differentiation potential as the embryo develops.
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03: Embryonic Stem Cells
Pluripotency is an embryonic stem cell's most unique feature. Since they have this differentiation potential, embryonic stem cells are used in medical therapies to repopulate cells in the body.
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04: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
In 2012, Shinya Yamanaka received the Nobel Prize for successfully reprogramming mouse somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells, reversing cell differentiation.
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05: Stem Cell Division
Stem cells divide either symmetrically or asymmetrically. In asymmetric division, post-mitotic influences such as cytokines lead to the creation of two distinct daughter cells, one of which is differentiated.
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06: Stem Cell Niche
The niche is a crucial microenvironment that provides signals for stem cell survival and maintenance. These extracellular signals work in conjunction with the stem cells' own internal cues to regulate proliferation, self-renewal, differentiation and phenotype maintenance.
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07: Neural Development
Formation of cells in the brain is driven by the proliferation of stem cells. The stem cells then differentiate to form the two types of cells that make up the adult brain: neuronal cells and glial cells, which hold the former in place.
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08: Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases result from loss of neurons or glial cells. In acute cases, neurons and glial cells die within a specific part of the brain over a short time period.
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09: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) results in the deterioration of motor neurons located in the cerebral cortex the spinal cord, and brain stem. Implantation of stem cells for therapy could potentially generate new motor neurons.
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10: Cancer STEM Cells
Tumors are the abnormal growth of tissue in the body and are often a sign of cancer. The tumor includes many different types of cells and functions similarly to an organ.
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11: Stem Cell Therapy for Cancer Patients
Currently, the most common methods of fighting cancer are chemotherapy and radiation, which destroy tumor cells. However, both of these methods also kill healthy cells, cause organ damage, and destroy the stem cells necessary for cell regeneration.
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12: Future Applications
Pluripotency and self-renewal makes stem cells a viable option for future forms of treatment. Incorporating the use of adult stem cells into treatment methods to avoid ethical issues and immune rejection is an important step in development of stem cell therapies.
