CSB329H1 Lecture Notes - Cell Potency, Gene Therapy, Degenerative Disease
Document Summary
Potency: the numbers of possible fates open to a cell (potent: having power, except for a few cells e. g. blood stem cells). Challenges made more differentiated tissue need special programming to differentiate. Totipotent cells (after fertilization) capable of reproducing the entire organism. Blastocyst inner cell mass are pluripotent cells, reduced potency, unable to produce entire organism. Inner cell mass: source of embryonic stem cells. Unipotent: cell to cell character, very limited ability to differentiate. Stem cell important to regenerate / replace cells that are dying ( tissue homeostasis), if not, lose the function of the tissue. Normal development and tissue homeostasis and regeneration are dependent on stem cells survival of multicellular organisms. Degrees of potency (in the order of decreasing potency: totipotent: can generate new embryos in mammals, this is usually the zygote. In mice, both cells of a 2-cell embryo are not totipotent rarely get identical twins, as occurs in humans.
