Stem cells form a very important class of cells in the human body and categorically differ from other kinds of cells in the body. All stem cells, regardless of their source of origin, have three general properties associated with them. These three properties of stem cells include their ability to divide and renew themselves for long periods; them being unspecialized; and their ability to give rise to specialized cell types. These properties also make stem cells invaluable and work well in stem cell therapy. Described below are these three major properties which will help you understand these properties of stem cells better.

More Insight into Stem Cells

Stem cells are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods. Unlike muscle cells, blood cells, or nerve cells—which do not normally replicate themselves—stem cells may replicate many times.

This allows for their use in stem cell therapy applications. The specific factors and conditions that allow stem cells to remain unspecialized are of great interest to scientists. It has taken many years of trial and error for scientists to learn to derive and maintain stem cells in the laboratory without them spontaneously differentiating into specific cell types.

Stem cells are unspecialized. One of the fundamental properties of a stem cell is that it does not have any tissue-specific structures that allow it to perform specialized functions. However, unspecialized stem cells can give rise to specialized cells, including heart muscle cells, blood cells, or nerve cells and this process are known as differentiation.

Stem cells can give rise to specialized cells. This important property forms the basis of all stem cell therapy uses. While differentiating, the cell usually goes through several stages, becoming more specialized at each step. The internal signals which control specialization are controlled by a cell’s genes, which are interspersed across long strands of DNA, and carry coded instructions for all cellular structures and functions. The external signals for cell differentiation include chemicals secreted by other cells, physical contact with neighboring cells, and certain molecules in the microenvironment.

Adult stem cells typically generate the cell types of the tissue in which they reside. For example, a blood-forming adult stem cell in the bone marrow normally gives rise to the many types of blood cells. It is generally accepted that a blood-forming cell in the bone marrow—which is called a hematopoietic stem cell—cannot give rise to the cells of a very different tissue, such as nerve cells in the brain.

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