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Stem Cells

 

Adult Stem Cells or Tissue-specific Stem Cells - The term ‘adult stem cells’ is often used very broadly and may include fetal and cord blood stem cells.

 

Many adult tissues contain stem cells that may:

Adult stem cells are tissue-specific, meaning they are found in a given tissue in your body and generate the mature cell types within that particular tissue or organ for example they are found in the:

Each contain their own stem cells.

It is not clear whether all organs contain stem cells?

 

There are a few stem cell therapies which use tissue-specific stem cells. They are:

 

The mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) is another type of adult stem cell found in a number of tissues which may be able to produce:

These or similar cells may aid in the regeneration of tissues.

 

Cord Blood Stem Cells - Cord blood is obtained from the umbilical cord at the time of childbirth, after the cord has been detached from the newborn. [1] The blood in the umbilical cord is rich in blood-forming stem cells. The applications of cord blood are similar to those of adult bone marrow and are currently used to treat diseases and conditions of the blood or to restore the blood system after treatment for specific cancers. Cord blood stem cells are tissue-specific.

 

Embryonic Stem Cells - are derived from very early embryos and may in theory give rise to all cell types in your body. But coaxing these cells to become a particular cell type in the laboratory is not trivial. Furthermore, embryonic stem cells carry the risk of transforming into cancerous tissue after transplantation. To be used in cell transplant treatments the cells will most likely need to be directed into a more mature cell type, both to be therapeutically effective and to minimize risk that cancers develop. There are currently no treatments using embryonic stem cells accepted by the medical community.

 

Fetal Stem Cells - are taken from the foetus. Most tissues in a foetus contain stem cells that drive the rapid growth and development of the organs. Like adult stem cells, fetal stem cells are generally tissue-specific, and generate the mature cell types within the particular tissue or organ in which they are found.

 

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS cells)

In 2006, scientists discovered how to “reprogram” cells with a specialized function (for example, skin cells) in the laboratory, so that they behave like an embryonic stem cell. These cells, called induced pluripotent cells or iPS cells, are created by inducing the specialized cells to express genes that are normally made in embryonic stem cells and that control how the cell functions.

 

Embryonic stem cells and iPS cells share many characteristics, including the ability become the cells of all organs and tissues, but they are not identical and can sometimes behave slightly differently. IPS cells are a powerful method for creating patient- and disease-specific cell lines for research. However, the techniques used to make them need to be carefully refined before they can be used to generate iPS cells suitable for safe and effective therapies.

 

 

 

1. Cord Blood Banking - Buzz.com - website

The developing baby is referred to as a foetus from approximately 10 weeks of gestation

 

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