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Updated: Jul 3, 2026
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Collection of Serum- and Feeder-free Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell-conditioned Medium for a Cell-free Approach
Published on: January 8, 2017
Human embryonic stem cells: a model for human ageing in vitro.
1Experimental Ageing Research Laboratory, FHSC, London South Bank University, London, UK.
Experimental Gerontology
|July 23, 2008
Summary
Human embryonic stem cells offer a youthful model to study the biological processes of human aging. This research explores their potential for investigating age-related changes and developing future therapies.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical research
- Developmental biology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Stem cells are crucial for understanding development and hold therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine and cancer treatment.
- Human aging is a complex biological process with significant implications for health and disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate human embryonic stem cells as a model system for studying human aging.
- To leverage the youthful phenotype of embryonic stem cells for experimental aging research.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing human embryonic stem cells as a model.
- Investigating cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with aging phenotypes.
Main Results:
- Human embryonic stem cells exhibit characteristics amenable to studying aging processes.
- The youthful phenotype provides a unique baseline for comparative aging studies.
Conclusions:
- Human embryonic stem cells represent a valuable tool for advancing the experimental investigation of human aging.
- This approach may pave the way for novel therapeutic strategies targeting age-related decline.
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00:57Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem (ES) cells were first discovered in mice in 1981 by Martin Evans. In 1998, James Thomson identified a method to isolate embryonic stem cells from humans. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are obtained from 3-5 day old embryos that remain unused after an in vitro fertilization procedure.
ES cells are grown in a culture medium where they can divide indefinitely, creating ES cell lines. Under certain conditions, ES cells can differentiate, either spontaneously into a variety of...
ES cells are grown in a culture medium where they can divide indefinitely, creating ES cell lines. Under certain conditions, ES cells can differentiate, either spontaneously into a variety of...
00:58Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem (ES) cells are undifferentiated pluripotent cells, meaning they can produce any cell type in the body. This gives them tremendous potential in science and medicine since they can generate specific cell types for use in research or to replace body cells lost due to damage or disease.
01:17Stem Cell Culture
Stem cell research aims to find ways to use stem cells to regenerate and repair cellular damage. Over time, most adult cells undergo the wear and tear of aging and lose their ability to divide and repair themselves. Stem cells do not display a particular morphology or function. Adult stem cells, which exist as a small subset of cells in most tissues, keep dividing and can differentiate into a number of specialized cells generally formed by that tissue. These cells enable the body to renew and...
01:33Adult Stem Cells
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Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells are excellent models for disease research because of their ability to self-renew and differentiate into most cell types. Somatic cells from a patient are isolated and reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs. These iPSCs are later differentiated into the desired cell type, which mirrors the diseased cell of the patient. In this way, disease models have been created for investigating diseases such as Down syndrome, type I diabetes,...
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The cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass only remain pluripotent for a short time. This state of pluripotency and self-renewal can be maintained in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture by adding specific chemicals or growth factors to ensure the cells can continue dividing and later differentiate into different cell types. In some cases, the cells are grown on a feeder layer of differentiated cells, which provides the growth factors and extracellular matrix components necessary for stem cell...