(Course name)
Quiz #1 (20 points)
Covers Intro Dev Bio and Intro to Stem Cells Lectures
Name: ________________________
(Date)
Questions 1-4: Select the one lettered answer that is best in each case (1 point each).
1. Which of the following cell types are adult stem cells?
A) Hematopoietic stem cells
B) Trophoblast-derived cells
C) Inner cell mass-derived cells
D) Neural precursor cells
E) Transit amplifying cells
2. What is the role of stem cells with regard to the function of adult tissues and organs?
A) Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide asymmetrically, giving rise to one daughter that
remains a stem cell and one daughter that will differentiate to replace damaged or worn-out cells in the
adult tissue or organ.
B) Stem cells are embryonic cells that persist in the adult and can become all cell types of the body.
C) Stem cells are determined cells that reside in fully differentiated tissues and can, when needed,
differentiate to supply new cells for growth of the tissue.
D) Stem cells are differentiated cells that have yet to express the genes and proteins characteristic of their
differentiated state, and will do so when needed for repair of tissues and organs.
E) Stem cells are fully differentiated cells that reside under the surface of epithelia, in a position to take
over the function of the tissue when the overlying cells become damaged or worn out.
3. Which of the following cell types is considered differentiated?
A) Blastomere
B) Ectodermal cell
C) Oocyte
D) Muscle cell
E) Neural progenitor
4. The process of differentiation refers to
A) an increase in cell size and complexity.
B) the acquisition of a particular fate of a progenitor cell.
C) the separation of chromosomes along the mitotic spindles.
D) the ability of a cell to renew itself during division.
E) the creation of a novel feature from an old one.
5. Circle all of the true statements regarding the ways embryonic stem cells are similar to or different
from adult stem cells (2 points total):
A) Adult stem cells are found in various tissues while embryonic stem cells are found in the blastocyst.
B) Embryonic stem cells are multipotent while adult stem cells are totipotent.
C) Embryonic stem cells divide asymmetrically while adult stem cells do not.
D) Both cell types are “immortal”.
E) In general, embryonic stem cells proliferate quickly while adult stem cells proliferate more slowly.
F) Both cell types are self-renewing.
G) Theoretically, embryonic stem cells have unlimited therapeutic potential while adult stem cells have
more limited therapeutic potential.
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Answer the following essay/short answer questions using the appropriate terminology and vocabulary
from the lectures and primers.
6. List two ways stem cells maintain their multipotency, either in the body or in a dish (2 points each).
- exposure to secreted signals (e.g. LIF, bFGF, serum) that maintain the multipotent state
- contain transcription factors that regulate expression of genes required for multipotency, or repress
genes required for the differentiated state
- physical association with their niche (in vivo) or with feeder cells (in vitro)
- symmetrical division to produce two multipotent daughter cells
7. Name one adult tissue or organ that arises from each of the germ layers during normal development (1
point each for a germ layer and its respective structure, 6 points total).
- ectoderm: skin, nervous system
- mesoderm: blood, muscle, heart, bone, kidney, blood vessels
- endoderm: gut/intestine, lung, liver, pancreas
8. What are iPS cells (1 point)? What is one advantage and one disadvantage for using them
therapeutically (1 point)?
- differentiated adult cells that have been “reprogrammed” to become pluripotent by forced expression of
certain key transcription factors (Oct4, Nanog, c-Myc, Sox3), using viruses or plasmid transfection
- advantages: potential to avoid immune rejection by using donor’s/patient’s own cells, fewer ethical
issues because blastocysts are not destroyed
- disadvantages: tumors due to random virus-mediated integration of DNA into chromosome, low
efficiency, not yet shown to produce fully pluripotent cells from human tissue
9. Describe the process that occurs when a progenitor cell gives rise to a heart muscle cell in vivo
(2 points).
- progenitor cell divides asymmetrically giving rise to daughter cells with a more restricted fate
- progenitor cell turns OFF genes required for multipotency and turns ON genes required for heart cell
differentiation
- progenitor cell offspring eventually stop dividing (mitosis) and enter the G0 phase of the cell cycle
- one example of a cardiomyocyte-specific gene required for the cell’s ultimate function in the heart is
Myosin Light Chain 2
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