The pluripotent, undifferentiated cells in the bone marrow that give rise to the formed elements are called stem cells.
Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to undergo self-renewal and to give rise to all cells of the tissues of the body. However, this definition has been recently complicated by the existence of distinct cellular states that display these features.
There are two types of pluripotent stem cells :
- Embryonic stem cells (ESCs)
- Induced pluripotent stem cells
Embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of pre-implantation embryos and can be indefinitely maintained and expanded in the pluripotent state in vitro. Pluripotent stem cells can also be obtained by inducing dedifferentiation of adult somatic cells through a recently developed in vitro technology, known as cell reprogramming.
Similarly to Embryonic stem cells , Induced pluripotent stem cells can be expanded indefinitely and they are capable to differentiate in all the derivatives of the three germ layers.
Another intriguing features of being pluripotent is its reliance on gene expression heterogeneity.
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