Describe:- (i) how induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are isolated (ii) how iPSCs can be used to study human development (iii) how iPSCs can be used to model human disease and to develop therapies for degenerative disease i) iPSCs are adult stem cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to behave like the pluripotent stem cells found in embryos, i.e. can differentiate into any cell type in the human body. This was first completed successfully in mice in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka and his team (Takahashi et al., 2006), then in humans in 2007 both by Yamanaka (Takahashi et al., 2007), and by James Thomson and his team in America independently (Yu, et al., 2007). Yamanaka and Thomson’s methods were similar. In the report by Yu et al. it is stated that “because development is dictated by epigenetic rather than genetic events, differentiation is, in principle, reversible” (Yu et al., 2007 p. 1917). In Yamanaka and team’s method, viral transduction using retroviruses containing four human transgenes (Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) as transduction factors were used to reverse the differentiation and gene expression of human dermal fibroblasts. The resultant cells were morphologically similar to embryonic stem cells. (Takahashi et al., 2007 p. 862-863) Thomson and team used a very similar method, however used Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, and Lin28 in a lentiviral system (Yu, J, et al., 2007 p. 1917). One of the major limitations of iPSCs currently is the presence of the viral vectors used to transduce the reprogramming factors. These have been shown in mice to cause tumors to develop due to the reactivation of c-Myc, an oncogene (a gene with the potential to transform a cell into a tumor cell in certain circumstances). iSPCs have been g... ... middle of paper ... ...em-cells-101/why-are-pluripotent-stem-cells-important/. [Accessed 27 April 14]. National Institutes of Health. 2009. Stem Cell Basics: What Are Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. [ONLINE] Available at: http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/pages/basics10.aspx. [Accessed 27 April 14] Park, I, Arora, N, Huo, H, Maherali, N, Ahfeldt, T, Shimamura, A, Lensch, M, Cowan, C, Hochedlinger, K, & Daley, G, 2008. Disease-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Cell, 134, 877-886. Soldner, F, Hockemeyer, D, Beard, C, Gao, Q, Bell, G, Cook, E, Hargus, G, Blak, A, Cooper, O, Mitalipova, M, Isacson, O, & Jaenisch, R, 2009. Parkinson’s Disease Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Free of Viral Reprogramming Factors. Cell, 136, 964-977. Saha, K, & Jaenisch, R, 2009. Technical Challenges in Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Model Disease. Cell Stem Cell, 5, 584-595.
Huang, Y., Enzmann, V., and Iidstad, S."Stem cell-based therapeutic applications in retinal degenerative diseases." Stem Cell Rev. 7.2 (2011): 434-445.
The cells unique nature has scientists intrigued to do research with the focus of finding a way that these cells can be used to replace patients’ injured or diseased tissues. Advancement is made to all the three types of stem cells namely embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells in addition to induced pluripotent cells. Embryonic cells are the building blocks of an embryo that is developing, and can develop into almost all body cell types. Somatic cells are found in the body tissues. They renew and regenerate in healthy bodies. The third type which is induced pluripotent is genetically modified embryo cells from skin cells.2 Research on these cells are geared towards saving humanity; a noble course.
Many people, like myself, after watching an episode of “The Michael Jay Fox Show,” started to be come curious as to what exactly this disease is. You ask yourself; What is this disease? What causes it? Can it be passed down from generation to generation? Is there a treatment? What would your life be like suffering from this? Through my research on Parkinson’s disease, I am determined to answer these questions. I hope to have a better understanding on this disease, and how it affects the lives of patients that I might see in a hospital.
Goldmann, David R., and David A. Horowitz. American College of Physicians Home Medical Guide to Parkinson's Disease. New York: Dorling Kindersley Pub., 2000. Print.
With more than 200,000 US cases per year, Parkinson’s disease has become a major part
8. "Stem Cell Basics." National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2009. Web. .
This report does a fairly comprehensive job on educating the public to the definition of stem cells, describing them as “a diverse group of remarkable multipotent cells that are relatively undifferentiated and unspecialized cells of the body.” Stem cells have the capacity for unlimited self-renewal and the possibility to produce differentiated descendant cell types. The main in...
"Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: What Is PGD." Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: What Is PGD. Genoma Excellence in Genetic Testing, 2007. Web. 01 May 2014.
Stem Cell Basics. In Stem Cell Information [World Wide Web site] Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009 [cited Friday, November 08, 2013] Available at stemcells.nih.gov
Those who favour stem cell research are optimistic about the continued developments in stem cell research will open doors to many breakthrough discoveries in biomedical science. The scientific and ethical questions arise as rapidly as the reaching of milestones in stem cell research. There are two main types of stem cells, namely embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells in our body. But they have restricted-range of cells that they can further differentiate. On the contrary, embryonic stem cells have the ability to differentiate into nearly two hundred cell types in the human body, called pluripotency. The process of harvesting embryonic stem cells involves destruction of embryos (Mooney, 2009).
“What are the potential uses of human stem cells and the obstacles that must be overcome before these potential uses will be realized?” . InStem Cell Information. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009.
Parkinson’s disease, a chronic, progressive, and neurodegenerative brain disorder affecting body movement, known to have no cure, yet has treatments that will help in managing the disease. This disease is named after James Parkinson, an English physician who described this illness. Approximately one million people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (What is Parkinson’s, n.d.). This disease is identified to be slow in progression and symptoms of this will only worsen as time goes on. Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease (Simpson, Murray, & Eccles, 2010).
Travis, John. "Pig cells used for Parkinson's disease." Science News. 7 Oct. 1995: 230. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Feb. 2014
"Stem Cell Research Timeline." Stem Cell History. N.p., February 1, 2011. Web. 16 Feb 2012.
These oncogenes cause cancer because they do not allow the cells to self-destruct or become epistatic. There have been several research projects which have been testing epistatis. Transfecting DNA To perform the experiments for this research, the researchers had to grow certain pieces of DNA.... ... middle of paper ...