Stem Cells - Part 2 => Continue Gaping into a Wonderful Invention

Lets see what are the different types of Stem Cells and how they help us in fighting with diseases.

Types of Stem cells:-

1. Embryonic stem cells - isolated from the inner cell mass of human embryos.

Ø In the 3- to 5-day-old embryo, the inner cells give rise to the entire body of the organism, including all of the many specialized cell types and organs such as the heart, lung, skin and other tissues.

2. Adult stem cells - found in non-embryonic adult tissues.

Ø In adult organisms, stem cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells, such as bone marrow, muscle, and brain, to replace cells that are lost through normal wear and tear, injury, or disease. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions.

Applicable Treatments:-

Stem cells are important for living organisms for many reasons. The well established success of Stem Cells point out to the Bone Marrow transplantation that are used to treat Leukemia. Just to list, few other promising and emerging potentials of stem cells:

Ø Stroke

Ø Alzheimer’s Disease

Ø Parkinson’s Disease

Ø Traumatic Brain Injury

Ø Learning Defects

Ø Missing Teeth

Ø Wound Healing

Ø Baldness

Ø Blindness

Ø Deafness

Ø Cancers

Ø Multiple Sclerosis

Ø Muscle damage

Ø Myocardial Infarction

Ø Diabetes

Ø Osteoarthritis

However, much work remains to be done in the laboratory and still scientists wonder.. why can embryonic stem cells proliferate for a year or more in the laboratory without differentiating, but most non-embryonic stem cells cannot.. what are the factors in living organisms that normally regulate stem cell proliferation and self-renewal. Discovering the answers to these questions may make it possible to understand how cell proliferation is regulated during normal embryonic development or during the abnormal cell division that leads to cancer.

Stem Cells - Part 1 => Emerging as a Miracle to Mankind !!!

What are Stem Cells:-

Stem Cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

Specific Characteristics of Stem Cells:-

1. They are capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity.

Ø Unlike muscle cells, blood cells, or nerve cells—which do not normally replicate themselves—stem cells may replicate many times. A starting population of stem cells that proliferates for many months in the laboratory can yield millions of cells. If the resulting cells continue to be unspecialized, like the parent stem cells, the cells are said to be capable of long-term self-renewal.

2. They are unspecialized cells.

Ø They do not have any tissue-specific structures that allow it to perform specialized functions. For example, a stem cell cannot work with its neighbors to pump blood through the body (like a heart muscle cell), and it cannot carry oxygen molecules through the bloodstream (like a red blood cell). However, unspecialized stem cells can give rise to specialized cells.

3. They can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, known as differentiation.

Ø Here, the cell usually goes through several stages triggered by the external and internal signals from the cells, becoming more specialized at each step. The internal signals are controlled by a cell's genres, interspersed across long strands of DNA, and carry coded instructions for all cellular structures and functions. The external signals for cell differentiation include chemicals secreted by other cells, physical contact with neighboring cells, etc.

to be continued.. friends!