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Related Concept Videos

Embryonic Stem Cells00:57

Embryonic 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...
Embryonic Stem Cells00:58

Embryonic 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.
Stem Cell Culture01:17

Stem 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...
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:06

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different cell types. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are terminally differentiated; however, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they dedifferentiate and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Somatic cells are...
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:13

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different types of cells. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are post-mitotic—that is, they no longer divide. However, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they “de-differentiate” and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are also pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are therefore called induced pluripotent stem...
Maintenance of the ES Cell State01:14

Maintenance of the ES Cell State

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...

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Establishment of Cancer Stem Cell Cultures from Human Conventional Osteosarcoma
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Establishment of Cancer Stem Cell Cultures from Human Conventional Osteosarcoma

Published on: October 14, 2016

Speculation on the evolution of stem cells.

Stanley Shostak1

  • 1Department Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. sshostak@pitt.edu

Breast Disease
|November 26, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Mammalian stem cell evolution reveals distinct embryonic and adult cell functions. Regenerative therapies should focus on adult stem cells, while cancer containment may involve promoting normal cell loss pathways.

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Last Updated: Jun 27, 2026

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Micro-scale Engineering for Cell Biology
04:42

Micro-scale Engineering for Cell Biology

Published on: October 1, 2007

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Stem Cell Biology

Background:

  • Mammalian embryonic and adult stem cells exhibit distinct potency and division patterns.
  • Historical concepts of determinate and regulative development add complexity to stem cell understanding.
  • Stem cell surrogates, like cache and reserve cells, share some but not all stem cell characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To resolve confusion surrounding stem cell types and functions by tracing their evolutionary history in Metazoa.
  • To differentiate the roles of embryonic versus adult stem cells in mammals based on evolutionary adaptations.
  • To inform strategies for regenerative medicine and cancer containment by understanding normal stem cell behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of stem cell evolution across diverse Metazoan phyla.
  • Examination of blastomere potency and proliferation patterns in organisms with varying egg provisioning and developmental strategies (determinate vs. regulative).
  • Inference of functional adaptations of mammalian embryonic and adult stem cells based on evolutionary context.

Main Results:

  • Determinate development, characterized by narrow cell potency and high proliferation, is observed in many invertebrates and some deuterostomes, supporting growth and body size regulation.
  • Regulative development in larger arthropods and deuterostomes involves larval "set-aside" or adult stem cells with constrained proliferation for organ size regulation.
  • Mammalian embryonic stem cells appear adapted for rapid proliferation, potentially for resource acquisition, while adult stem cells resemble those in organisms with small eggs, adapted for tissue maintenance and organ size regulation via proliferation and cell loss.

Conclusions:

  • Mammalian embryonic stem cells are suited for rapid proliferation and early development, while adult stem cells are adapted for tissue homeostasis in mature organisms.
  • Regenerative therapies in mammals may be more effective by stimulating endogenous adult stem cells or their surrogates.
  • Cancer containment strategies could benefit from enhancing normal cellular removal pathways, mimicking the basal mode of handling excess cells.