Reader Question
A high school reader asked, What's the difference between stem cells and regular cells?
In really simple terms, I would say the answer is that regular cells already look like what they are. If you take a skin cell or a muscle cell or a heart cell and put it under a microscope, it will look like any other skin cell or muscle cell or heart cell. If you look at a stem cell, it will look different--it has the potential to be many kinds of cells.
Cells contain DNA, which makes up our genes. We have millions of genes which are not expressed--in other words, they are inactive. For example, I have a gene for blue eyes that I got from my mom, but it is not expressed; I have green eyes. However, my son has blue eyes--I passed that gene on to him. (He also got a blue-eye gene form his green-eyed dad, whose mother also has blue eyes, otherwise it wouldn't have been expressed since it's a recessive and needs two.) We have lots and lots of other genes which are not expressed.
A cell that has differentiated only expresses the genes for the kind of cell it is. When it divides (reproduces), it makes an exact copy of itself.
A stem cell has the capacity to express many more genes. An embryonic stem cell can theoretically express anything. When a stem cell divides, it creates a copy of itself and it also creates another cell which has the potential to be many different things. Proteins and enzymes and other chemicals in the environment (the body) tell it what to become.
Bottom line--if you put a skin cell in a culture and give it lots of different things that make it grow, it won't ever become a muscle cell. If you put an embryonic stem cell in a culture and give it things, you can make it either a skin cell or a muscle cell. If you put an umbilical cord or other adult stem cell in a culture and give it lots of things, you can make it become some things but not all--for example, a blood stem cell can't become cartilage although it can become a variety of types of blood cells.
On a theoretical level, since cells contain so much unexpressed, inactive DNA I suppose you could turn any cell into any other type of cell. The technology is nowhere close, though.
5 Comments:
This is what makes this blog and site so great. Simple, easy to understand explanations for the general public. This post really helped me to understand what stem cells are. Anne, your examples and metaphors and similes and analogies are great. Are you a teacher?
Also the pictures bring this stem cell science into life. Keep up the great work, and I will tune in daily to see the progress in Stem Cell Research as a lot of people are waiting for cures.
Thanks for the compliment. The answer is that I taught college writing for six years, though that is in my past. My background in the sciences is three years of history of science in college and general reading on my own.
Dear Anne, Some of my associates are clearly opposed to embryonic stem cell research and are promoting umbilical stem cells as an alternative. Could you do a comparison of the two? I am so happy to have come across your site - very clear and helpful information. Thank you.
PLEASE DIFINE PERIPHERIAL BLOOD STEM CELL WHICH IS USED IN AUTOLOGUS STEM CELL TRANSPLANTS.
I HAVE SEEN VERY LITTLE REFERENCE
TO WHAT THIS CELL LOOKS LIKE.
Madame, I'd like to bring to your attention that scientists have in fact bombarded lead atoms with appropriate radiation and other particles to produce gold, but the produced gold is more expensive than the lead. It's like cold fusion or hydrogen energy, can be done but too expensive. RESEARCH, however, can lead to fixing these barriers, which is why scientists want to do further research with embryonic stem cells.
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