Stem Cell: Stem Cells Are Master Cells With Two Important Characteristics
Stem Cell: Stem Cells Are Master Cells With Two Important Characteristics
Unspecialized cells capable of their own renewal Ability to differentiate into different cell types
Derived from ICM/epiblast of Blastocyst Pluripotent Long-term self-renewal Exibit and maintain a stable diploid normal complement of chromosome
Stemness Genes
Long-term self-renewal Give rise to mature cells having characteristic morphologies and specialized functions Rare Dispersed in tissues throughout the body Origin of adult stem cells in tissues is yet not known
Bone marrow Skeletal muscle Epithelia of skin and digestive system Cornea retina Peripheral blood Spinal cord Blood vessels Testes Liver Pancreas Kidney Heart, etc
Major Applications
Animal model testing for pharmaceutical research Use of stem cells in transplantation and cell replacement therapy Conservation of endangered species Understanding fundamental events in embryonic development Therapeutic delivery system To resolve mysteries of developmental biology To investigate genes involved in differentiation and development Cell banking for research applications
Cell morphology Expression of unique cell surface antigens Characterization of biochemical markers such as tissue specific enzymatic activity Expression of genes that are unique to a particular cell type Nuclear chromosomal karyotype to access genetic stability
Scope
Pharmaceuticals: diabetes, cardiac anomalies, neurodegeneration, and infertility Neutraceuticals : produce heterologous nutrients Understanding early embryonic development Model for in vitro drug and immunity screening Producing environment friendly animals eg. Phytase and methane Tissue remodeling and engineering Cell-cell communication and differentiation Conservation Germ stem cells challenge age old dogma of female born with fixed number of oocytes
Xenotransplantation
With decoding of the genome sequences in animals, stem cell promise to resolve many mysteries of the developmental biology
Transgenic pig bearing an hMt-pGH construct tightly regulated by Zinc feeding - improves traits as growth rate, feed conversion, body fat muscle ratio
Phytase gene exclusively expressed in salivary gland enables the pigs to digest phytate which can be metabolized by the intestine. Release low phosphorus in manure
Transgenic in Biomedicine
Proteins synthesized in farm animals milk
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