Stem Cells bethlehemeaststpaul干细胞伯利恒eaststpaul.pptVIP

Stem Cells Mark Ellinger, Ph.D., J.D. Bethlehem Presents Series July 17,2008 Stem Cells What Are They? The term “stem cell” originated in the late 1800’s: lFertilized egg ● “Germ” cells and immortality lblood-forming cells (hematopoietic stem cells) ? Skin cells Cells, particularly stem cells: highly complex, poorly understood Stem Cells Just one component of the “cytoskeleton”: Stem Cells Cells that can continuously produce unaltered descendants, but also have the ability to produce descendants that have different, more restricted properties Stem Cells Stem Cells EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS Differentiation Potential: everything, including germ cells Immortal in culture Cancer potential? Stem Cells Stem Cells Stem Cells SOURCES: ?Normal or abnormal blastocyst ?Blastocyst produced by transplanting adult cell nucleus into enucleated egg (“therapeutic cloning”) ?Chimeric Animal/Human blastocysts? ?Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC’s) Stem Cells “Adult” Stem Cells: Differentiation potential: varies Lifespan in culture: varies (some reported to be unlimited) Role in the Body? Progeria – a defect in stem cells? Affected by common drugs? (e.g., statins) Renewal/repair Cancer? Stem Cells Sources of Adult Stem Cells Umbilical cord (blood and tissue) Placenta Amniotic fluid Bone Marrow Fat Muscle Brain Other Stem Cells What’s All the Excitement? Stem Cells Animal studies: remarkable results to date Heart and blood vessel repair Parkinsons’s Disease Muscular dystrophy (To name just a few) Human clinical studies: pointing in the same direction (caution required!) Stem Cells Human Stem Cell Trials: Heart attack (Osiris) (mesenchymal stem cells) Graft-versus-host-disease (Osiris) (mesenchymal stem cells) Breast reconstruction (Cytori) (stem cells from fat) Female incontinence (U. Pittsburgh) (connective tissue and muscle stem cells) Peripheral vascular disease (Indiana U.; Tufts) (adult bone marrow stem cells) (legs s