This document discusses stem cell therapy and research. It defines stem cells as undifferentiated cells that can differentiate into specialized cell types and have self-renewal properties. There are two main types of stem cells - embryonic stem cells which are pluripotent and can become any cell type, and adult stem cells which are multipotent and more limited in differentiation potential. Current stem cell therapy applications include treatments for cancers, blood disorders, diabetes, vision and hearing loss, Parkinson's disease, and more. However, obstacles remain around identifying the right stem cell types and controlling differentiation.

1. Stem Cell
Therapy
Presenter: Shiv Kumar

2. Presentation Outline
 What are Stem cells?
 Stages of Development
 The unique properties of all stem cells
 Types of Stem Cells
 Advantages
 How stem cell therapy works?
 Current stem cell therapy
 Obstacles of Stem Cell Research

3. What are Stem cells?
 Stem cells are “master cells “
 The raw material :- from which all
of the body’s mature,
differentiated cells are made.
 Stem cells give rise to brain cells,
nerve cells, heart cells, pancreatic
cells, etc.
Stem cell
Stem
cell
( unlimite
d cell
division )
Specialized cell
(e.g., white
blood cell)

4. Stages of Development

5. The unique properties of all stem cells
 Undifferentiated / unspecialized cells
 Undifferentiated cells can differentiate to yield major specialized
cell types or organs
 Self-renewal property is to maintain and repair the tissue. Thus
they have potential to replace cell tissue damaged by severe
illnesses.

6. Kinds of Stem Cells

7. Embryonic Type stem cells
 Embryonic : derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst /
human embryo
Source :
1. Excess fertilized eggs from IVF (in-vitro fertilization) clinics
2. Therapeutic cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer)

8. Adult type Stem cells
 Adult : derived from mature organisms that can divide to form
more differentiated cells
- but are less versatile and more difficult to identify, isolate, and
purify.
E.g.: Stem cells have been found in the blood, bone marrow, liver,
kidney, cornea, dental pulp, brain, skin, muscle
 Fetal : derived from aborted fetal tissue
 Umbilical : derived from umbilical cords
- All blood cell types (red blood cells, white blood cells, and
platelets)

9. Advantages of Embryonic Stem
Cells over adult stem cells
Embryonic S.C.
 “Pluripotent”
 (can become any cell
types present in the
human body )
 Stable. Can undergo
many cell divisions.
 Easy to obtain but
blastocyst is destroyed.
Adult S.C.
“Multipotent”
(“can become many but not any”)
E.g., blood stem cells can develop into
several blood cell types, but cannot
develop into brain, kidney, or liver cells
Less Stable. Capacity for self-renewal is
limited.
Difficult to isolate in adult tissue.

10. How stem cell therapy works?
 When stem cells are transplanted into the body and arrive into the
injured part, brain being targeted for tissue regeneration, the
stem cells are coming in contact with growth chemical’s (like
EGF’s , NGF’s and HGF’s )in the body. These chemicals program
the stem cells to differentiate into the tissue surrounding it.

11. Current stem cell therapy

12. Hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation (“HSCT”)
 Stem cells that give rise to the lymphocytes and other cells of the
immune system, also make blood cells, are called hematopoietic
stem cells.
 The process of taking stem cells from one person and putting
them into another is therefore called “ HCST”
 To treat cancer patients with conditions such as leukemia and
lymphoma, sickle cell anemia,
 Used in Providing a functional immune system in a person with
SCID.

14. Stem cells in treating baldness
 As hair follicles contain stem cells – dermal papilla
 Take stem cells from existing hair follicles
 Multiply them in cultures
 Implant the new follicles into the scalp

16. Diabetes
 Diabetes patients lose the
function of their insulin-
producing beta cells of the
pancreas.
 Human embryonic stem cells
may be grown in cell cultures
and stimulate to form insulin-
producing cells , that can be
transplanted into the patient

17. Corneal disease / blindness
 Result in poor vision
 Take stem cells from healthy eye
 Grown onto contact lenses in clinical lab
 Lenses are worn by the patient for a period of three weeks
 Then migration of human stem cells from lens to damaged eye
and begin to repair process
 Thus heals the damaged cornea and quickly improves the vision

19. Parkinson disease
 Caused when key brain cells that produce message carrying
chemical/neurotransmitter (dopamine) die off.
 Harvesting of stem cells from patients bone marrow, fetus or any
other source
 Culturing of harvested stem cells in lab conditions - to get high
concentrations of stem cells
 Then purified and high concentration of stem cells are surgically
injected in the brain of patient.

21. Missing teeth

22. Brain damage
 Stroke and traumatic brain injury lead to cell death, characterized
by a loss of neurons and oligodendrocytes within the brain.
 Healthy adult brain contain neural stem cells, these divide and act
to maintain general stem cell numbers or become progenitor cells.

23. Heart damage

24. Orthopaedia

25. Deafness/ hearing loss
 Embryonic stem cells are capable of differentiating
into cochlear hair cells in the adult inner ear

26. Stem Cell Research Worldwide

27. Obstacles of Stem Cell Research
 How to find the right type of stem cells?
 How to put the stem cells into the right place?
 Will the stem cells perform the desired function in the body?
 Differentiation protocols for many cell types have not been
developed.

28. References
 Odorico, J.S., Kaufman, D.S., and Thomson, J.A. (2001).
Multilineage differentiation from human embryonic stem cell
lines. Stem Cells. 19, 193 -204.
 Smith, A.G. (2001). Origins and properties of mouse embryonic
stem cells. Annu. Rev. Cell. Dev. Biol.
 Thomson, J.A. and Marshall, V.S. (1998). Primate embryonic
stem cells. Curr. Top. Dev. Biol. 38, 133-165.
 Chandross, K.J. and Mezey, E. (2001). Plasticity of adult bone
marrow stem cells. Mattson, M.P. and Van Zant, G. eds.
(Greenwich, CT: JAI Press).
 Slack, J.M. (2000). Stem cells in epithelial tissues. Science. 287,
1431-1433