116A WEEK 10 – Stem Cells and Differentiation
Learning outcomes:
1. Understand somatic nuclear cell transfer, and basics of epigenetic
regulation
2. Explain the basics of embryo development
3. Understand the mechanisms of hematopoietic stem cell
differentiation
4. Discuss experimental approaches to studying stem cells, and
mechanisms to induce pluripotency
Session overview
- Somatic nuclear cell transfer and epigenetics
- Embryo development basics
- Hematopoietic stem cells and specialisation
- Studying stem cells
- Induced pluripotency
- The future of stem cell therapy
Why is it important?
- Development pathways are highly conserved in eukaryotes
- Stem cells underlie the viability of the organism
- iPSC is a wide-spread research tool with an enormous potential
Epigenetics
Somatic cell nuclear transfer
- Dolly the sheep is the most
famous example of cloning by
SCNT (somatic cell nuclear
transfer)
- This was first performed in
frogs first by John Gurdon
, Waddington’s epigenetic landscape
Embryo development and cell differentiation
- As an embryo develops, cells differentiate
into different types
- They lose the potential to form other
types
- Most cells eventually specialise into one
particular cell type
Cells need interactions with neighbours
Polarity = symmetry breaking
Learning outcomes:
1. Understand somatic nuclear cell transfer, and basics of epigenetic
regulation
2. Explain the basics of embryo development
3. Understand the mechanisms of hematopoietic stem cell
differentiation
4. Discuss experimental approaches to studying stem cells, and
mechanisms to induce pluripotency
Session overview
- Somatic nuclear cell transfer and epigenetics
- Embryo development basics
- Hematopoietic stem cells and specialisation
- Studying stem cells
- Induced pluripotency
- The future of stem cell therapy
Why is it important?
- Development pathways are highly conserved in eukaryotes
- Stem cells underlie the viability of the organism
- iPSC is a wide-spread research tool with an enormous potential
Epigenetics
Somatic cell nuclear transfer
- Dolly the sheep is the most
famous example of cloning by
SCNT (somatic cell nuclear
transfer)
- This was first performed in
frogs first by John Gurdon
, Waddington’s epigenetic landscape
Embryo development and cell differentiation
- As an embryo develops, cells differentiate
into different types
- They lose the potential to form other
types
- Most cells eventually specialise into one
particular cell type
Cells need interactions with neighbours
Polarity = symmetry breaking
