S.V.
Table of Contents
 What
are Stem Cells?
 Classification of Stem Cells
 Current Uses of Stem Cells
 Legal Restrictions
 Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
 Therapeutic Cloning
 Potential Use of Stem Cells
 New & Exciting Research
 Conclusion
Stem Cells
Stem cells are pluripotent.
Stem cells serve as a repair system for the body.
Stem cells have the potential in many different areas of
health and medical research.
By studying stem cells we can understand diseases and
how serious conditions occur.
Stem cells may be used one day in the future to make
cells and tissues for therapy for many different diseases.
Classification


Formed as a normal part of embryonic development
Can be isolated from an early embryo and grown in
a dish
 ES cells are pluripotent
 ES cells are a promising source of cells for treating diseases
 Patient’s immune system
will recognize
transplanted stem cells
as foreign and attack
them
 when hES cells are
isolated from an embryo
the embryo is destroyed
Classification




Also called adult stem cells
Exist naturally in body
Important for growth, healing, and replacing cells lost
through daily wear and tear
Can become only a subset of related cell types
 Can treat blood and skin diseases
 Only certain cells can be produced from somatic stem cells
 Cells low in abundance
 Difficult to isolate and grow in
culture
 Can be transplanted but will
be attacked by patient’s
immune system
 Not controversial
 Same ethical
considerations that
apply to all medical
procedures
Current Uses
 Regenerative capabilities of human skin to treat victims
severe burns using skin transplants
ofStem
cell therapies are not new
 Possible cause stem cells located under top layer of
that reproduce
worn out skin
cells
daily and
skin
Somatic
Cell Therapy
for
blood
 After severe burns, source of these reproducing stem
skin diseases
cells are destroyed
 Past: used to treat burns by transplanting sections of
skin of undamaged area to burned areas but if not
enough unharmed skin found then no treatment
 Now: scientists grow sheets of new skin by culturing
stem cells from small pieces of healthy skin
Current Uses
 Can already treat leukemia, sickle cell anemia, bone marrow
 Now we can drive hematopoietic stem cells from blood in
damage, some metabolic disorders and immunodeficiencies
umbilical cords and placentas at birth and from peripheral blood
where the body has lost ability to replenish its healthy blood cells
 Problem with PBSC’s is that due to small quantity it’s difficult to
 Hematopoietic stem cell gives rise to all blood cells
collect enough for a transplant
 Only way to use hematopoietic stem cells is bone marrow
 Umbilical cord blood lacks immune cells so there is less chance of
transplants
transplanted cells will attack recipients body
 Scientists are exploring new use for these stem cells that go
 Stem cells from umbilical cords and placentas are more
beyond blood related diseases
accessible than from the bone marrow
Legalities
Canada:
 Governed by Assisted Humans Reproduction Act Protect
principles of free and informed consent, human dignity, noncommercialization of gametes and embryos and respect for
embryos
 Not ethically acceptable to create human embryos for research
 In vitro fertilization embryos may be used
 Reproductive and research cloning are prohibited and
punishable
Classification



Created artificially by reprogramming patient’s cells
Made from readily available somatic cells
An alternate to hES but not the same
 Mouse iPS cells can become any cell in body of a mouse
 Predictably same for humans
 Promising source of cells for treating diseases
 Much cheaper to generate
than ES cells from
therapeutic cloning
 No danger or immune
system rejection
 Same ethical
considerations that
apply to all medical
procedures
Classification


Method of cloning patient-specific embryonic stem
cells
Also known as nuclear transfer
 in theory, can generate hES cells with potential to become
any type of cell in human body
 No possible rejection by immune system
 Not successful in creating
human embryo to blastocyst
stage
 In animals cloning has been
time consuming, inefficient
and expensive.
 Involves creating clone
of human being
 Destroying cloned
embryo
 Requires human egg
donor
Potential Uses
 By either obtaining or producing stem cells (from
embryo, iPS or therapeutic cloning) we can test new
medications on these stem cells to see how they
react
There are many potential uses and applications of
Stem Cells.
The three I am going to discuss are:
• Resource
for Testing
New Medical Treatments
Development
of Embryos
• Development
and Disease
Research
Research on diseases
like Parkinson’s
or Cancer
Normal stem cells
and tumor stem cells exist in low
• Regenerative
Medicine
number but can replicate and differentiate
 Cancerous stem cells lack control to stop diving
 Research in difference in gene expression between
normal and tumor stem cells may lead to treatments
where the root of the problem occurs
Potential Uses
 New field that aims to use stem cells to repair damaged tissues
that can’t heal itself
 Many animals can grow new body ports
 Regeneration in humans is limited , human stem cells can only
heal injuries not replace missing pieces
 Scientists are looking for ways to activate stem cells inside the
body and coax them to go beyond their natural healing
abilities
 Some existing drugs can activate stem cells, thus scientists may
be able to develop new drugs that will activate other types of
stem cells to heal damaged tissue
 Scientists trying to use hES and iPS stem cells to grow organs or
stem cells to treat diseases or damages
 Tissue engineers can grow patches of repaired damaged
heart tissue
 In animals they can grow whole hearts, livers, lungs and kidneys
New Research




Antipsychotic drug, Thioridazine, found by
McMaster University researchers, is a “smart drug”
that kills only cancer stem cells and appears to
have no effect on normal cells
Was removed from shelved by Health Canada
because it causes irregular heartbeat that may
cause sudden death
One of 26 drugs found by Bhatia and his team
Studying how Thioridazine works also led McMaster
researchers to discover new ways in which cancer
stem cells grow and evolve.
Conclusion
As we grow from fertilized eggs
into fully formed human beings,
stem cells give rise to all of our
differentiated tissues and
organs. Stem cells continue to
play an important role
throughout our lives as they
help to heal and maintain our
bodies. Stem cells offer an
exciting promise for future
therapies and may be used
one day to make cells and
tissues for therapy for many
devastating diseases like
Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and
Diabetes.
References
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DI Gieuseppe, M., Vavitsas, A., Ritter, B., Dr., Fraser, D., Arora, A., & Lisser, B. (2003). The
Importance of the Nervous System. In Nelson Biology 12 (pp. 471-472
NIH: National Institutes of Health. (2012). Stem Cells. Retrieved May, 2012, from
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Euro Stem Cell. (2009, June 1). What are the potential applications of stem cell
research? Retrieved May, 2012, from http://www.eurostemcell.org/faq/ whatare-potential-applications-stem-cell-research
Genetic Science Learning Center (1969, December 31) The Nature of Stem Cells.
Learn.Genetics. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/scintro/
Genetic Science Learning Center (1969, December 31) Stem Cell Quick Reference.
Learn.Genetics. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/quickref/
Genetic Science Learning Center (1969, December 31) The Stem Cell Debate: Is It
Over?. Learn.Genetics. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/scissues/
Reiser, J., Ph.D., & LSU Health New Orleans. (n.d.). Mending the Broken Brain: Novel
Ways to Repair Brain Damage Using Stem Cells and Genes. Retrieved May,
2012, from http://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/genetics_center/
louisiana/article_brokenbrain.htm
Genetic Science Learning Center (1969, December 31) Stem Cells In Use.
Learn.Genetics. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from
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Genetic Science Learning Center (1969, December 31) Unlocking Stem Cell Potential.
Learn. Genetics. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/scfuture/
References
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UBC. (2004, August). Stem Cell Bioengineering. Retrieved May, 2012, from
http://www.scq.ubc.ca/ stem-cell-bioengineering/
National Institute of Health Research. (2009). Stem Cell Basics. Retrieved May 2, 2012,
from http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics6.asp
The National Academies. (2009). Stem Cell Basics. Retrieved May, 2012, from
http://dels-old.nas.edu/ bls/stemcells/why-stem-cell-research.shtml
The National Academies. (2009). Stem Cell Basics - Ethics. Retrieved May, 2012, from
http://dels-old.nas.edu/ bls/stemcells/ethics.shtml
The National Academies. (2009). Stem Cell Basics - Ethics. Retrieved May, 2012, from
http://dels-old.nas.edu/ bls/stemcells/working-with-stem-cells.shtml
Stem Cell Network. (2009). Canada's Regulatory Oversight of Stem Cell Research.
Retrieved May, 2012, from http://www.stemcellnetwork.ca/
index.php?page=canada-s-regulatory-oversight-of-stem-cell-research
Frketich, J. (2012, May 25). Drug that kills cancer stem cells has safety concerns .
Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved from
http:/http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/ 730705--drug-that-killscancer-stem-cells-has-safety-concerns
Picture References
Slide 3 – http://www.stemcelltreatments.in/stroke
Slides 4, 5, 10 & 11 http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/quickref/
Slide 6 http://apbrwww5.apsu.edu/thompsonj/Anatomy%20&%20Physiol
ogy/2010/2010%20Exam%20Reviews/Exam%202%20Review/Ch%2
05%20Skin%20Grafts.htm
Slide 7 - http://www.drugs.com/health-guide/bone-marrowtransplant.html
Slide 9 - http://www.genengnews.com/insight-andintelligence/california-stem-cell-agency-s-road-to-success-fornext-five-years-will-have-to-run-through-the-clinic/77899540/
Slide 13 - http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/adultstem-cells-and-radiation/
Animation Slide 15 http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/stemcells/differentiation.html