Stem Cells & iPS Cells
- hssphi07
- Mar 8
- 2 min read
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the potential to develop into different types of cells, either other stem cells or specialized cells, in the body. There is no limit to the number of times a stem cell can divide, but the type of cells they can divide into depends on their potency.
Totipotent stem cells can differentiate into any cell type in the body, including the embryo and the placenta. The zygote, or the embryonic stem cell, is a well-known example, as through differentiation, it can become specialized cells, in which they contain the same DNA but different parts of it are read, or adult stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to differentiate into many cell types in an organism, such as tissues and organs, but cannot develop into an entire organism of their own. Multipotent cells develop into a closely related range of cell types, while unipotent stem cells can only form one type of cell of their own lineage.
Engineered stem cells are known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Professor Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his research in iPS cells. These cells are reprogrammed and artificially formed by ‘turning back the clock’ to allow them to make all cells of the body. Creating an iPS cell requires multiple steps and typically takes several weeks.
To make iPS cells, researchers must…
Isolate adult dividing cells (the skin and blood are used most frequently because they are accessible and easy to obtain).
Add stem cell factors, cytokines that regulate the growth and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (e.g. OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, etc.)
Bring in by a variety of means, such as integrating and non-integrating virus, DNA, and RNA.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Stem Cells: What They Are and What They Do.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Mar. 2024, www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bone-marrow-transplant/in-depth/stem-cells/art-20048117.
National Institutes of Health. “Stem Cell Basics.” Stemcells.nih.gov, National Institutes of Health, 2016, stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/stc-basics.
UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center. “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells | UCLA BSCRC.” Stemcell.ucla.edu, 2024, stemcell.ucla.edu/glossary/induced-pluripotent-stem-cells.
“The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012.” NobelPrize.org, 2012, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2012/yamanaka/facts/.
González, Federico, et al. “Methods for Making Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Reprogramming à La Carte.” Nature Reviews Genetics, vol. 12, no. 4, Feb. 2011, pp. 231–42, https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2937.
Glaspy, J. “Clinical Applications of Stem Cell Factor.” Current Opinion in Hematology, vol. 3, no. 3, May 1996, pp. 223–29, https://doi.org/10.1097/00062752-199603030-00010.
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