Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found in most multicellular animals, that keep dividing by mitosis without losing their undifferentiated state — a property called self-renewal — while also being able to differentiate into the specialised cell types of the body, a property called cellular potency. Potency comes in degrees. Totipotent cells can give rise to every cell type in an organism, including extra-embryonic tissue. Pluripotent cells (like embryonic stem cells) can form the three primary germ layers — ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm — and, from those, more than 200 adult cell types; embryonic stem (ES) cells are isolated from the epiblast of the inner cell mass of a blastocyst and are effectively immortal in sterile culture. Multipotent cells differentiate into a related family of cell types, as blood stem cells do into lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils. Oligopotent cells differentiate into only a few related types (a lymphoid or myeloid stem cell into B and T cells, but not red blood cells), and unipotent cells produce just one cell type. In the body, adult (somatic) stem cells are found in children and adults alike, are mostly multipotent, and act as the body's built-in repair system, replenishing tissues; red bone marrow is a particularly rich source. Because they can regenerate damaged or diseased tissue and be used to trial new drugs, stem cells are one of medicine …