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Stem cells: Uses and applications

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atif Amin Baig


Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin,
Malaysia
Recalls
1. Types of Human chromosomes
2. Classification of human chromosomes
3. Chromosome Bandings
4. Poloidy and Euploidy
5. Types of cytogenetic disorders
6. Types of epigentic disorders
7. Karyotyping
8. CGH and CGH-array
9. FISH
Learning Outcomes
1. What is regenerative medicine?
2. Overview of regenerative medicine?
3. Injury and types of injuries?
4. Different between injury in embryonic and adult tissues?
5. What are stem cells?
6. Vitals of stem cells?
7. Types of stem cells and their examples?
8. Introduction to Invitro Fertilization
9. Introduction to Somatic cell nuclear transfer
10. Difference between different stem cells.
11. Stem cell therapy for different diseases
Regenerative Medicine

The process of creating living, functional tissues to repair


or replace tissue or organ function lost due to damage, or
congenital defects.
Overview of Regenerative medicine

Regeneration (vs repair) of embryonic tissues is the central logic for the field of
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
The injury response cascade

TROPHIC
The regenerative microenvironment in embryonic tissues is quite different
from the regenerative micro- environment in adult tissues.
Osteogenesis Chondrogenesis Myogenesis Marrow Stroma Tendogenesis
What are Stem Cells?
• Stem cells are the raw material from which all of the body’s
mature, differentiated cells are made. Stem cells give rise to
brain cells, nerve cells, heart cells, pancreatic cells, etc.

∞ They have the potential to replace cell tissue that has been damaged or
destroyed by severe illnesses.

∞ They can replicate themselves over and over for a very long time.

∞ Understanding how stem cells develop into healthy and diseased cells will
assist the search for cures.
Two Vitals of Stem cells
• Stem cells have two important properties:

1. Self renewal
They can go through several cell divisions without
differentiating and in an undifferentiating state.

2. Potency
The capability of differentiating into specialized cell
types.
Self renewal
• Two mechanisms are involved in self renewal

1. Obligatory asymmetric replication.


2. Stochastic differentiation (Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF).
Potency
• Based on potency the stem cells are classified into four types.

1. Totipotent stem cells (eg, zygote).


2. Pluripotent stem cells (eg, embryonic stem cells).
3. Multipotent stem cells (eg, hematopoietic stem cells)
4. Oligopotent stem cells (eg, lymphoid/myeloid stem cells)
Types of Stem cells
(based on origin)
• Embryonic (also called “pluripotent”) stem
cells are capable of developing into all the cell
types of the body.

• Adult stem cells are less versatile and more


difficult to identify, isolate, and purify.
Embryonic Stem Cells
Researchers extract stem cells from a 5-7 days old blastocyst.

Stem cells can divide in culture to form more of their own kind,
thereby creating a stem cell line.

The research aims to induce these cells to generate healthy tissue needed by
patients.
From where the stem cells can be obtained?

1. Excess fertilized eggs from IVF (in-vitro fertilization) clinics

2. Therapeutic cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer)


Tens of thousands of frozen
embryos are routinely
destroyed when couples finish
their treatment.

These surplus embryos can be


used to produce stem cells.

Regenerative medical research


aims to develop these cells into
new, healthy tissue to heal severe
illnesses.
Somatic Cell Nuclear
Transfer
The nucleus of a donated egg is
removed and replaced with the
nucleus of a mature, "somatic cell"
(a skin cell, for example).

No sperm is involved in this


process, and no embryo is created
to be implanted in a woman’s
womb.

The resulting stem cells can


potentially develop into specialized
cells that are useful for treating
severe illnesses.
Pipette injecting the
This is human oocyte A pipette penetrating an egg somatic cell into the egg

Nucleus removed from an egg The enucleated egg Egg with the somatic cell

Source of cells?

Cells from individuals


Pipette penetrating the egg
Culture
The human oocyte with the somatic cell Frozen sections

Process of Enucleation
multipotent

oligopotent
Adult Stem Cell Differentiation Properties
Somatic cell nuclear transfer
Use of stem cell therapy for different diseases

1. Spinal cord injury


2. Diabetes
3. Heart disease
4. Parkinson's disease
5. Alzheimer's disease
6. Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
7. Lung diseases
8. Arthritis
9. Sickle cell anemia
10.Organ failure (graft Vs host defense, etc).
11.Deafness
12.Missing teeth
13.Cancer
Thank you
Assignments to Read
• In the last slide, different diseases have been
mentioned. What types of stem cells will be used for these diseases?

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