Q.Write the differences between multipotency and oligopotency.

Multipotent stem cells differentiate into multiple related cell types of one lineage, while oligopotent stem cells differentiate into only a couple of closely related cell types - oligopotency is a more restricted potential than multipotency.

Stem cells are classified by the range of cell types they can produce (their 'potency'), forming a spectrum from totipotent (can form any cell type, including extra-embryonic tissue) down to unipotent (can form only one cell type). Multipotent stem cells sit in the middle of this spectrum: they can self-renew and differentiate into several different, but developmentally related, cell types, usually within a single germ layer or organ system - the classic example is the haematopoietic stem cell of bone marrow, which can differentiate into all the various formed elements of blood (erythrocytes, various leukocytes, platelets). Oligopotent stem cells have a narrower differentiation potential than multipotent cells - they can give rise to only two, or a very small number of, closely related cell types. For instance, the haematopoietic stem cell first gives rise to oligopotent progenitors such as the common lymphoid progenitor (which can only become lymphocytes - B cells, T cells, NK cells) and the common myeloid progenitor (which can only become a small set of myeloi …