The Importance Of Pluripotent Stem Cells

Pluripotent stem cells are the stem cells that can only differentiate into a limited range of differentiated cells. (2) They have the ability to give rise to all somatic cells from ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm, as well as gametes. Naturally it can be found in embryos as Embryonic stem cells (ES cells). Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells or iPSC) are the pluripotent stem cells that are generated directly from adult cells, first discovered by Shinya Yamanaka in 2006 by using a set of reprogramming factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc or LIN28 and Nanog) (3) to reprogram mature cells back to a pluripotent state (4).

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are grown in the laboratory from cells found in the early embryo. ESCs have an unlimited chance to

Over time, the use of human stem cells has proven to be monumental in research, particularly in the field of disease modeling and drug development for treatments of diseases. However, there are many barriers that come with using human stem cells, specifically embryonic stem cells (ESCs), mainly due to the fact that they must come from either

The creation of induced pluripotent stem cells by direct reprogramming has allowed for the circumvention of using embryonic stem cells while still leaving the cells with the ability to maintain pluripotency. Instead of ES cells which were originally derived from the epiblast of mouse embryos, IPS cells were generated from mouse embryonic fibroblasts. This eliminated both any ethical concerns for whether those cells were a living being or not and the need to destroy embryos at the blastocyst stage. An advantage of IPS cells is that they are derived from human somatic cells which makes them easy to acquire due to the possibility of using skin or blood cells. They can also be grown and differentiated individually for each person that the sample of somatic cells is taken from which eliminates the possibility of having any immune reaction and rejection to the differentiated cells during transplantation. These characteristics of IPS cells are important because they are what enables us to safely and accurately transform these affected cells from patients cells into neurons and confidently study them.

The generation of stem cells from zygotes and blastomeres retain the ability to create all embryonic and extraembryonic tissues (13) these are deemed ‘totipotent’, while cells that generate embryonic and cannot generate extraembryonic tissues are deemed ‘pluripotent’. Induced cells that are in a differentiable state, pluripotent, are the cells chosen to advance medicine. Cells selected for induced pluripotency cannot be terminally differentiated, as these cells lose their ability to be developed into other cells types (14). Pluripotency can be induced by the study of embryonic stem cells. These cells express factors (Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc), deemed Yamanaka factors (15) and described as such in this review. There are currently four main methods for delivering these factors including viral vectors, DNA-based induction, RNA molecules and recombinant proteins (fig 1.) (16,17).

Those people also argue that society would begin to accept the concept or destroying one potential life in order to save another. The final source of embryonic stem cells is opposed only because people find creating an embryo only to destroy it later is morally wrong and inhumane. Those that are in favor or neutral to creating the embryos point out that it is acceptable for an embryo that is created accidentally to be destroyed as a consequence of pregnancy, but to create an embryo with the intent to use the stem cells it is composed of to save a life is wrong (Hug). The second type of stem cell are pluripotent stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells come from fetal tissues instead of the embryo itself. Fetal tissues include the umbilical cord and the blood inside it, and the placenta. There is also a second kind of pluripotent stem cell. These stem cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs. iPSCs are stem cells were adult stem cells, but have been reprogrammed into their embryonic stages. Though iPSCs resemble human embryonic stem cells, they are not usually accepted into the body, and so they are introduced to other adult stem cells with a virus that has caused some cancers to develop (National Institutes of Health).

Being one of the most exciting and promising fields of medical research, embryonic stem cell research has progressed over the years going more in depth to discover the key to unlock the cure to many diseases. These unique individuals have the ability to copy themselves an unlimited amount of times and can grow into any cell type in the body. Scientists are seeing infinite value in these cells. They are able to further their research on the understanding of human development and how they can help treat many diseases. These embryonic stem cells give hope for medical advancement having the ability to grow into many different cells and can replace damaged or dead ones, producing new organs in the process. These cells have the ability to prevent or reduce the suffering of many people with many fatal diseases. Continuing stem cell research can further eradicate life-threatening diseases, introduce new medical knowledge, and help improve the health and appearance of burn victims.

Because of their ability to differentiate into specialized cells, embryonic stem cells can have the potential of treating a wide range of diseases. Some of these diseases include heart disease, Parkinson 's disease, and diabetes (Kelly 5). The regenerative properties of stem cells allow scientists to potentially restore damaged muscle, and perhaps even damaged nerve tissue. The discovery of embryonic stem cells is so important that it opened up a new field of medicine called regenerative medicine. Although embryonic stem cells are not the answer to all diseases known to man, other types of stem cells are being used to effectively treat

Induced pluripotent stem cells were first reported in 2006 by two scientists in Japan. A Japanese patient was suffering from degenerative eye disease accepted therapy with using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in September. 2014. Although these cells have been approved use in undergoing human clinical trials, but there still are some disadvantages for using them compare with Human embryonic stem cell. For example, organ transplantation, because of human embryonic stem cells can become all types of cell in a specific area of organs, so these cells can develop, grow ，and repair the damaged organ. But they can only get from early embryo, and this way will have harm for the embryo, that’s why it is very hard to get and still has many limits for using them on therapies. Induced pluripotent stem cells come from adult stem cell through reprogramming to make them have similar functions as human embryonic stem cell. Otherwise, they can make from any cells by several steps, so it would be easier, but there is a problem that The ectopic transcription of Oct4 , Sox2 , Klf4 , and c–Myc can lead to neoplastic development from cells derived from iPSCs, because the expression of Oct4 , Sox2 , Klf4, and c–Myc genes is associated with the development of multiple tumors known in oncogene tics [22, 24]. Finally, when IPSC is transplant into the body, it may lead to increase the risk

CRISPR/Cas9 DNA editing system is a prokaryotic immune system that becomes resistant to foreign genetics such as plasmids. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which are prokaryotic DNA strands that have a short repetition base sequence. Cas9 is a nuclease enzyme that is used to cut into DNA strands that are associated with CRISPR type II. CRISPR/Cas9 system has several advantages when using this technology in the biological and biomedical sciences. It also has a few disadvantages that cause concerns when using this system in the medicine field. However, before all of this can be discussed, a depth of what CRISPR/Cas9 is and where it comes from and why is it important to the biology field.

“The proliferative and developmental potential of human ES cells promises an essentially unlimited supply of specific cell types for basic research and for transplantation therapies for diseases ranging from heart disease to Parkinson's disease to leukemia” (Thomson &Yu, 2006). As stated by Junying Yu and James A. Thomson, it is true that embryonic stem cells are very adaptable and hold many mysteries in medical science, but why are they so heavily debated upon? Embryonic stem cells, or pluripotent cells, are cells derived from embryos that have the potential to become any bodily cell. Research of these cells allows us to understand human development and how disorders or illnesses form as people grow older. The main controversy that surrounds

Even though it was discovered in 1987 by a research team at Osaka University, the true power of CRISPR, which functions as an adaptive bacteria immune defense, was not realized until the completion of the Human Genome Project in the early 2000’s (Carroll and Zhou 63-64). There are only two components of CRISPR, a guide RNA sequence (gRNA) and a Cas9 endonuclease protein. When the gRNA binds to its matching template DNA sequence, the Cas9 protein cuts the template DNA sequence resulting in the inactivation of that specific gene (Hille and Charpentier 3). In addition, a mutant gene can be replaced by adding another piece of DNA with the desired sequence, which will bind to the cut DNA template strand and become incorporated into the host

The ability to engineer biological systems and organisms has an enormous potential for applications across basic science, medicine and biotechnology. Genome editing is a group of technologies that allow scientists the ability to change an organism’s DNA, which can provide better outcomes for health and disease control compared to natural immunity and mutations. Genome editing (gene editing) allows genetic material to be added, removed or altered at particular locations in the genome. A number of gene editing technologies have emerged in recent years with one of the most versatile and precise methods of genetic manipulation being Crispr-Cas9 (Steve scott,2016). The term Crispr-cas9, (clustered regular interspaced short palindromic repeats)

This paper aims to identify key developments in the evolution of indued pluripotent stem cells and how these developments will impact the medical field. Beginning with a comprehensive exploration of the history and discovery of stem cells, it will highlight the challenges historically faced by researchers and medical professionals prior to the discovery of defined factors in adult cells. Using published research for reference, it will describe the process of discovery and modern application of induced pluripotent stem cells, leaning heavily on the original work of Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, who was awarded a Nobel Prize for her role in discovering adult pluripotency. Finally, it will take a forward perspective to predict how this technology may be used in the future of medicine and discuss some of the most controversial ethical questions regarding these potential uses.

iPSCs are adult stem cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to behave like the pluripotent stem cells found in embryos, i.e. can differentiate into any cell type in the human body. This was first completed successfully in mice in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka and his team (Takahashi et al., 2006), then in humans in 2007 both by Yamanaka (Takahashi et al., 2007), and by James Thomson and his team in America independently (Yu, et al., 2007). Yamanaka and Thomson’s methods were similar. In the report by Yu et