An Introduction to Stem Cells

Contents Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

– What are Stem Cells – A Stem Cell overview

– Embryonic Stem Cells
– Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
– Mesenchymal Stem Cells
– Neural Stem Cells
– Hematopoietic Stem Cells
– Cancer Stem Cells

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What are stem cells? Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells differ from other kinds of cells in the body.

All stem cells—regardless of their source—have three general properties:
they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods
they are unspecialized
they can give rise to specialized cell types

Cultured Stem Cells

Basic Research Drug Development Cell Therapy

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Types of Stem Cells Stem Cell
Watch types
a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs)

– Derived from the blastocyst of a 5 day-old embryo
– Are pluripotent, i.e., they can differentiate into almost
any cell type in the body (primary-like cells)
– Can renew themselves indefinitely

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)

– Generated from reprogrammed somatic cells
– Similar or equivalent to ESCs, i.e., pluripotent and
the ability to renew themselves indefinitely

Adult Stem Cells (e.g. MSCs, NSCs, ADSCs)

– Isolated from adult tissues, organs or blood, cord blood, etc.
– Are multipotent – i.e., can give rise to a number of related
cell types
– Can renew themselves a number of times but not indefinitely

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Embryonic Stem Cells Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

 Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells

derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an
early-stage embryo
 ESCs are able to differentiate into all derivatives of the
three primary germ layers which include each of the more
than 220 cell types in the adult body:

 Because of their pluripotency, ESCs have broad

applications in basic research, drug discovery and cell
therapy.
 On January 23, 2009, Phase I clinical trials, led by Geron,
for transplantation of oligodendrocytes derived from
human ES cells into spinal cord-injured individuals
received approval from the FDA, marking it the world's
first human ES cell human trial.

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Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

• Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are adult cells that have
been genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell–like
state by being forced to express genes and factors important for
maintaining the defining properties of embryonic stem cells

• iPSCs were first generated by Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University,

Japan in 2006.
• Yamanaka used genes that had been identified as particularly important
in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and used retroviruses to transduce
mouse fibroblasts with a selection of those genes.
• Eventually, four key pluripotency genes essential for the production of
pluripotent stem cells were isolated; Oct-3/4, SOX2, c-Myc, and Klf4.

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How are iPSCs created? Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

iPSC colonies are

selected and transferred
to iPSC expansion media
Reprogramming factors
are added to the
expanded cells (typically
by viral delivery)
iPSCs are expanded and
passaged to form stable
iPSC lines

Somatic cells (typically

fibroblasts) are isolated
and expanded

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Why are iPSCs important? Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

 iPS cell research allows

− both wild-type and disease-specific
pluripotent cells to be derived from accessible
tissue sources

 iPS cells will help researchers

− create genetic models for disease
− understand molecular controls influencing cell
development

 iPS cells hold the promise of

− reducing drug development times
− improving drug safety
− bringing us closer to Personalized Medicine
and targeted therapies

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Mesenchymal Stem Cells Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
 Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), also called bone marrow stromal cells, are
multipotent stem cells that differentiate into a variety of cell types, including:
− osteoblasts (bone cells) SOURCE
Bone Marrow
Adipose Tissue
− chondrocytes (cartilage cells) Umbilical Cord
Cord Blood
− adipocytes (fat cells). Placenta
& Others
 Human MSCs are of interest in clinical applications due to:
− Capacity for homing and engraftment
MSC
− Wide-range differentiation potential

− Immunosuppressive attributes

 Potential MSC Therapies:

− Graft versus Host Disease
MESODERM DIFFERENTIATION
− Crohn’s Disease

− Bone Defects/ Genetic Disease

− HSC Transplantation

− Cardiac repair
Tenocyte Chondrocyte Osteocyte Adipocyte Myoblast
− Trachea repair (tendon) (cartilage) (bone) (fat) (muscle)

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 Hematopoietic Stem Cells Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

 Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are

multipotent stem cells that give rise to all the blood
cell types from the:
− myeloid lineage (monocytes and
macrophages, neutrophils, basophils,
eosinophils, erythrocytes,
megakaryocytes/platelets, dendritic cells)

− and lymphoid lineage (T-cells, B-cells, NK-

cells).

 The average human requires approximately one

hundred billion new hematopoietic cells each day
 The continued production of these cells depends
directly on the presence of HSCs, the ultimate, and
only, source of all these cells
 HSC transplants are now routinely used to treat
patients with cancers and other disorders of the
blood and immune systems.

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 Neural Stem Cells Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

 Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) are multipotent stem

cells that that generate the main phenotypes of the
nervous system
− Neurons

− Astrocytes Tissue ESC/iPSC

− Oligodendrocytes

 NSCs are derived from brain tissue or differentiated

from pluripotent stem cells

 NSC research is currently focused on methods to

repair damage from degenerative diseases such as
Parkinson's Disease and amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease),
as well as from brain and spinal cord injuries
resulting from stroke or trauma:

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 Cancer Stem Cells Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
 Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cancer cells (found within tumors or
hematological cancers) that possess characteristics associated with
normal stem cells, specifically the ability to give rise to all cell types
found in a particular cancer sample.
 Current CSC theory states that if current treatments of cancer do
not properly destroy enough CSCs, the tumor will reappear.
 This includes the possibility that treatment by, for example,
chemotherapy, will leave only chemotherapy-resistant CSCs and
the ensuing tumor will most likely also be resistant to
chemotherapy.
 CSCs have recently been identified in several solid tumors,
including cancers of the:
− Brain

− Breast

− Colon

− Ovary

− Pancreas

− Prostate

− Melanoma

− Multiple Myeloma

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 Summary Watch a video about Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

All stem cells—regardless of their source—have three general properties:

1. they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods
2. they are unspecialized
3. they can give rise to specialized cell types

There are two main types of stem cells:

1. Pluripotent Stem Cells
• Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs)
• Induced Pluriptoent Stem Cells (iPSCs)
2. Adult or Multipotent Stem Cells
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs)
• Neural Stem Cells (NSCs)
• Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs)
• Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs)

Stem Cells have applications in:

• Basic Research
• Drug Discovery
• Cell Therapy

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 To learn more about Stem Cells, join the Life
Technologies Stem Cell Research Network

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