Question

Your friend is a pioneer in ES cell research. In her research, she uses an ES cell line that originated from an inbred strain of laboratory mice called FG426. She has just figured out methods that allow her to grow an entire liver from an ES cell and has successfully grown 10 livers. She demonstrates that the newly grown livers are functional by successfully transplanting one of the new livers into a FG426 laboratory mouse. You are particularly excited about this, because you have a sick pet mouse, Squeaky. You are very attached to Squeaky, as you found him when you were out camping in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, Squeaky has developed liver disease and will not live much longer without a liver transplant. After you see your friend on TV talking about her new method for growing mouse livers, you immediately grab your cell phone to ask her whether Squeaky could have one of the newly grown livers. Just as you are about to dial your friend, you remember something you learned in cell biology and realize that instead, you should ask your friend about possibly using therapeutic cloning for Squeaky’s benefit.
A. Why do you think that one of the newly grown livers may not work in Squeaky?

B.Explain how using iPS cells could solve this problem.

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

a)Organ transplantation requires that the donor organism and recipient be genetically close so that the graft or transplant will not be attacked by the immune system of the recipient leading to rejection and damage. Squeaky is likely to be made up of a different genetic configuration compared to laboratory inbred FG426 mouse

b) ips (induced pluripotent stem cell) on the other hand can benefit squeaky since the cells are somatic cells such as B cells, Keratinocytes, neuronal progenitors cells, kidney and muscles gotten from the donor that are reprogrammed by reactivating silent genes through fusing of another different cell such as ES (embryonic stem cell) and introduction of some transcriptional factors such oct4, sox2,kf4, and k-myc leading to transcriptional activity and DNA methylation.  This induced pluripotent stem cells can be grown into organ that can be transplanted to the recipient who was initially the donor of the reprogrammed somatic cells. Because it is from the host, the transplanted organ is not likely to trigger immune response compare to those grown from ES from other bred.