Stem cells are the foundation for every organ
and tissue in your body. There are many different types of stem cells
that come from different places in the body or are formed at different
times in our lives. These include embryonic stem cells that exist only
at the earliest stages of development and various types of
tissue-specific (or adult) stem cells that appear during fetal
development and remain in our bodies throughout life. All stem cells
can self-renew and differentiate.
Types:
Tissue-specific stem cells (also referred to as somatic or adult stem cells) are more specialized than embryonic stem cells. Typically, these stem cells can generate different cell types for the specific tissue or organ in which they live. Some tissues and organs within our body contain small caches of tissue-specific stem cells whose job it is to replace cells from that tissue that are lost in normal day-to-day living or in injury, such as those in our skin, blood, and the lining of our gut. Tissue-specific stem cells can be difficult to find in the human body, and they don’t seem to self-renew in culture as easily as embryonic stem cells do.
MSC refer to cells isolated from stroma, the connective tissue that surrounds other tissues and organs. Cells by this name are more accurately called “stromal cells” by many scientists. The first MSCs were discovered in the bone marrow and were shown to be capable of making bone, cartilage and fat cells. Since then, they have been grown from other tissues, such as fat and cord blood. Various MSCs are thought to have stem cell, and even immunomodulatory, properties and are being tested as treatments for a great many disorders, but there is little evidence to date that they are beneficial. Scientists do not fully understand whether these cells are actually stem cells or what types of cells they are capable of generating. They do agree that not all MSCs are the same, and that their characteristics depend on where in the body they come from and how they are isolated and grown.
Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are cells that have been engineered in the lab by converting tissue-specific cells, such as skin cells, into cells that behave like embryonic stem cells. IPS cells are critical tools to help scientists learn more about normal development and disease onset and progression, and they are also useful for developing and testing new drugs and therapies. While iPS cells share many of the same characteristics of embryonic stem cells, including the ability to give rise to all the cell types in the body, they aren’t exactly the same.
Source: http://www.closerlookatstemcells.org/learn-about-stem-cells/types-of-stem-cells
Types:
- Embryonic stem cells
- Tissue-specific stem cells
- Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC)
- Induced pluripotent stem cells
Tissue-specific stem cells (also referred to as somatic or adult stem cells) are more specialized than embryonic stem cells. Typically, these stem cells can generate different cell types for the specific tissue or organ in which they live. Some tissues and organs within our body contain small caches of tissue-specific stem cells whose job it is to replace cells from that tissue that are lost in normal day-to-day living or in injury, such as those in our skin, blood, and the lining of our gut. Tissue-specific stem cells can be difficult to find in the human body, and they don’t seem to self-renew in culture as easily as embryonic stem cells do.
MSC refer to cells isolated from stroma, the connective tissue that surrounds other tissues and organs. Cells by this name are more accurately called “stromal cells” by many scientists. The first MSCs were discovered in the bone marrow and were shown to be capable of making bone, cartilage and fat cells. Since then, they have been grown from other tissues, such as fat and cord blood. Various MSCs are thought to have stem cell, and even immunomodulatory, properties and are being tested as treatments for a great many disorders, but there is little evidence to date that they are beneficial. Scientists do not fully understand whether these cells are actually stem cells or what types of cells they are capable of generating. They do agree that not all MSCs are the same, and that their characteristics depend on where in the body they come from and how they are isolated and grown.
Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are cells that have been engineered in the lab by converting tissue-specific cells, such as skin cells, into cells that behave like embryonic stem cells. IPS cells are critical tools to help scientists learn more about normal development and disease onset and progression, and they are also useful for developing and testing new drugs and therapies. While iPS cells share many of the same characteristics of embryonic stem cells, including the ability to give rise to all the cell types in the body, they aren’t exactly the same.
Source: http://www.closerlookatstemcells.org/learn-about-stem-cells/types-of-stem-cells
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