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39 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What are stem cells? |
Non-specialised cells that self-renew and differentiate. |
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What are the three classes of stem cell? |
Totipotent Pluripotent Multipotent |
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What are totipotent stem cells? Where can we find them? |
Cells that can make all extra-embryonic tissue, the embryo itself, all the tissues and organs of the body Found in the fertilised egg |
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What do pluripotent stem cells give rise to? Where can we find them? |
Gives rise to tissue stem cells for all three germ layers:endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. They just generate the cells of the embryo/ the cells of our body a.k.a embryonic stem cells Found in the blastocyst |
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What are multipotent stem cells? |
Give rise to a specific type of tissue a.k.a tissue stem cells |
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Are adult tissue stem cells totipotent, multipotent or pluripotent? |
Multipotent. |
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Where do embryonic stem cells come from? |
The inner cell mass of the blastocyst. (from donated excess IVF embryos) |
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Embryonic stem cells can be grown indefinitely in the laboratory. They have the potential to generate what cell types in the lab? |
All cell types in our body (pluripotent) |
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What provide factors that maintain ES cell growth? |
Feeders ( mouse embryonic fibroblasts ) |
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How can we generate mouse embryonic fibroblasts? |
Remove heads and internal organs from mouse embryos, then treat with trypsin and plate cells into a dish. Irradiated to stop growth |
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Why do we need mouse embryonic fibroblasts? |
Because they provide growth factors for embryonic stem cells. |
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How can we ensure that cultured cells are stem cells? |
Cells are capable of long-term self-renewal when they are dissociated and re-plated. |
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How can we ensure that cultured cells are stem cells? |
Inspect cells througha microscope to see if look healthy and undifferentiated. |
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What is the process of taking cells, putting them in a dish, and plating them into a new dish called? If you can do this process to cells for 6 months, we say these cells are what kind of cells? |
Sub-culturing Embryonic stem cells |
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How can we ensure the cultured cells are stem cells? |
They have a normal complement of chromosomes. Any genetic changes can hinder the cells ability to divide an differentiate. |
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The microenvironment around cells is crucial for what three things? |
Their survival, self-renewal and differentiation. |
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What are some features of tissue stem cells? |
1.Generate tissues of the body during development 2. Includes stem cells isolated from fetal and cord blood 3.Retained in adult tissues where they are involved in repair and replacement |
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An example of tissue stem cell is a haematopoietic stem cell. What does this cell generate? |
Blood cells e.g Platelets, macrophages and lymphocytes. |
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We have a multipotent stem cell which generates one of itself and another more committed cell. The committed cell goes on to generate a series of committed progenitor cells until they make the final specialised cell that our body needs. True or false? |
True |
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What is after the first arrow and what is after the second arrows? |
Committed progenitors Specialised cells |
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What do specialised cells go on to generate? |
More of themselves Committed progenitors |
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What is a progenitor cell? |
A biological cell that, like a stem cell, has a tendency to differentiate into a specific type of cell, but is already more specific than a stem cell and is pushed to differentiate into its "target" cell. |
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Stem cells exist in a very specific environment. What do we call this? |
The stem cell niche |
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Within the stem cell niche, the cells are closely associated with one another. What two things do they do to each other |
They either contact one another or secrete factors that interact with one another. |
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If you treat a tumour with something that doesn't kill off stem cells, what will happen? |
You will get relapse |
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Which type of cells encourage cells to move out of the niche? |
Neurones. |
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What is a somatic cell? |
A totally differentiated cell |
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There are factors in the egg cell cytoplasm that cause what to happen to the nucleus from the tissue donor cell? |
There are factors in the egg cell cytoplasm that can change/reprogramme the nucleus from a somatic cell to become pluripotent again. |
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What are pluripotency factors? |
Factors that when introduced into a somatic cell, will turn this cell into a cell that has the characteristics of an embryonic stem cell. |
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What are the properties of induced pluripotent stem cells like compared to embryonic stem cells? |
Similar |
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What are some advantages of induced pluripotent stem cells? |
Bypass ethical issues Similar properties to embryonic stemcells Can create stem cells directly from apatient for research, drug screening |
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What are some current applications of stem cells? |
Treat blood diseases, bone and cartilage repair |
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The microenvironment around stem cells provides support and signals regulating what three things? |
Self-renewal Differentiation Survival |
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In the microenvironment around stem cells, what is the purpose of the daughter cells? |
Send messages back to the parent cell to give them an idea if more or less daughter cells are needed |
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What are the Yamanaka factors? |
Pluripotency factors |
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What are two neurogenic regions in the adult brain? (areas that give rise to neurones) |
Sub ventricular zone lining lateral ventricles Sub granular zone of hippocampus |
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What can umbilical cord stem cells be used to treat? |
Leukaemia in children |
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Mesenchymal stem cells are currently undergoing clinical trials. What are some potential applications of them? |
Bone and cartilage repair Cardiovascular disease (blood vessel repair) |
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What do limbal stem cells have the potential to treat? |
Corneal damage |