Stem cell therapies
in a laboratory for transplantations, or the body can replace damaged cells easily, stimulating the repair of the body.
Finally, the attribute of differentiation indicates that any tissues can be replaced using stem cells. One of the long-term goals of regenerative medicine, procuring functional organs, can potentially be achieved by growing stem cells in specific environmental conditions and treating them with chemical signals and growth factors. This will cause the stem cells to differentiate into a desired cell type. While the characteristics remains the same, stem cells can be categorized by order of their potency. This describes the range of cells that stem cells can differentiate into, with the highest degree of potency being totipotent (Singh, 2016). Though rare, totipotent stem cells can develop into every cell type, including placenta and amniotic fluid cells. However, as they are more readily available, pluripotent stem cells are more commonly used in research. Treated with chemical signals, pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into a variety of cell types and mediate tissue repairment. One study uses mesenchymal stem cells, a form of pluripotent stem cells, in the treatment of Hepatitis B (Kim, 2021). This condition is caused by the inflammation of the liver, compromising its function. Isolated from adipose tissues, mesenchymal stem cells were induced to express a specific secretome, a set of proteins that promote tissue regeneration, and transplanted into the inflamed liver of a patient with Hepatitis B. Compared to another patient that was given medication instead of stem cell therapies, there was higher expression of liver regeneration-related markers in the patient with the stem cells (Kim, 2021). There were more liver growth markers naturally produced whilst a lower expression for cell-programmed death and inflammation markers (Fig 1.1 & 1.2) . The study concluded that the presence of stem cells improved the rate of tissue regeneration by releasing growth-promoting hormones. which released growth-promoting hormones, improved the rate of tissue regeneration.
Figure 1.1 – VEGF is a liver regeneration-related protein.
Figure 1.2 – Bcl-xL is anti-programmed cell death-related protein.
Figure 1.3 - γ -GTP is a marker for hepatitis B.
Finally, stem cells are ubiquitous in human anatomy, providing a readily available supply for therapeutic treatments. Using a patient’s own stem cells is extremely beneficial as the antigenic material is, by default, identical to that of the recipient. This has great implications in transplant
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