Translations:Linia komórkowa/2/en

Stem cell lines

Embryonic stem cells (ESC) are pluripotent (capable of differentiating into all cell types existing in the body). They are typically isolated from the inner cell mass of a pre-implantation embryo (blastocyst stage), which raises ethical concerns and has prompted researchers to turn to other sources of stem cells, such as somatic stem cells which naturally exists in the adult body. Somatic cells are both multipotent cells (e.g. hematopoietic cells or mesenchymal stem cells) and unipotent cells (e.g. skeletal muscle satellite cells). The isolation of somatic stem cells is well documented, many of them have been used to generate cell lines for research on a new cellular therapies in regenerative medicine. In search of new research opportunities for stem cells, adult specialized somatic cells were "reprogrammed" into induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines capable of producing any type of cells. The induction of somatic cells to revert to a pluripotent stem cell state was achieved by the introduction of four factors: the Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4 genes. Apart from eliminating the ethical concerns arising from the use of ESCs, another advantage of lines derived from somatic cells is that in potential therapeutic purposes, e.g. in regenerative medicine or tissue engineering, they can be derived from the patient, making them an easily obtainable and physiologically compatible with the recipient's organism that enables their potential use in personalized cell therapy.