What Are Stem Cells?
What Are Stem Cells?
There is perhaps no area of medicine today that holds greater promise or garners more excitement than stem cells. There is also no area of medicine or research that is surrounded by as much controversy either. Stem cell-based therapies have the potential to treat and/or eradicate many of the most debilitating diseases and injuries that we may face during our lives. They, stem cells, are under appreciated, misrepresented, and certain types (like embryonic) can be ethically contentious.
In this article we answer the question, what are stem cells, and we discuss the uses of both mesenchymal and embryonic stem cells.
Stem Cells
Did you know that as you are holding your computer or phone and scanning the pages you have endogenous stem cells, (stem cells from within your body), actively working away to maintain your body (homeostasis) and as a result your health? For example, stem cells in your hands are holding your phone and scrolling down while stem cells in your retina (where light is transferred into vision) are reading these words. Our bodies are quite literally made up of stem cells. The idiosyncrasies, shortcomings, and strengths of our own unique cohorts of stem cells are determining factors for how and when we age and our health along the way.
What Is A Stem Cell?
Our bodies are the ultimate factory. Every cell has a specific job to do and is shaped and programmed to do that job and only that job perfectly. A muscle cell is a muscle cell and only a muscle cell. A nerve cell will only ever be a nerve cell and a red blood cell will only ever be a red blood cell—nothing more. The fate of each cell is determined during the embryonic stage (which we will elaborate more on shortly), and this cannot be changed. There are, however, these wonderful cells that exist called stem cells. These cells have the remarkable ability to become any type of cell in the body. They are undifferentiated and haven’t yet specialized in a particular function or domain.
Stem Cells For Research
Stem cells can be used to repair damaged organs, bones, cartilage, and also to treat (but not yet cure) various diseases such as Alzheimer’s by making new brain cells or be even used to help repair damaged immune systems. While skin cells protect your body, muscle cells contract, and nerve cells send signals, stem cells do not have any specific structure or function: However, that lack of specificity, is what makes them unique. Their “stem-like” properties is what makes these cells so special. Once again, stem cells do not yet have a specific function but they do have the potential to become all other kind of cells within the body like skin, bone, blood, fat, liver, nerve, muscle, etc.
When Does Your Body Use Stem Cells?
Your body uses stem cells to replace warn out cells whey they die. For example, you completely replace the lining of your intestine every 4 days. Stem cells beneath the lining of your intestines replace these cells as they wear out. Your taste buds are replaced every 10 days or so and your skin cells every couple of weeks. Amazingly, your body actually replaces itself with a largely new set of cells every 7-10 years and some of our most important body parts are revamped even more rapidly. The cells that are doing the replacing of the old and/or damaged cells are adult stem cells also called somatic stem cells.
The best examples of how stem cells function come from our day-to-day life. Pretend it is a beautiful sunny summer day and you are at the track with your kids racing to see who is faster and you pull a hamstring. Or perhaps you are playing tennis with your high school daughter and as you are running after the ball she so eloquently placed on the back baseline, you trip and fall and not only scape your knees and elbows but you also damage your great grandfathers racket in the process. Oops! Now imagine the look on your face as you leave the racket in the garage to go grab a couple of band-aids and a few days later, just like your body the racket had fixed itself. No more damage, no more bruises, nothing.
The Stem Cell Process
If you think about it the body’s ability to heal itself, which is a stem cell-dependent process, it is rather striking. We do not have to think to ourselves, “Okay, I better heal myself” and go through in our minds the steps involved, consciously coordinating the process. In fact, we are not capable of doing that. Instead, our stem cells just automatically do it for us because that is what they are programmed to do. In this book we are going to talk about a great deal about that stem cell programming.
Can Stem Cells Help Illnesses?
It is not just injuries that stem cells work to address, but also pathogen-based illnesses as well. Get sick with a virus? Bacteria gets under the skin after that tennis racket accident? The only reason you get better is because of stem cells that supply your immune system. Without them, even something as benign as the common cold could prove fatal. When you get sick or injured regardless of where this happens in your body, your stem cells are there to come to the rescue by powering and coordinating the repair of the affected area.
Where Do Stem Cells Come From?
Stem cells can be largely divided into two categories—Embryonic (ESC) and Adult. There is actually a third category of stem cells known as Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, which will not be discussed in this article.
Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic Stem Cells (ESC’s) are derived from embryos created through in vitro fertilization prior to their implantation in the womb and not from eggs fertilized in a woman’s body. The stem cells are taken from inside the blastocyst (an embryo that is 3-5 days old and contains only 150-or-so cells). The main advantage of ESC's is that they are pluripotent stem cells meaning they have the capacity to self-renew and develop into all cells of the body. Furthermore, one embryonic stem cell line can potentially provide an endless supply of cells with defined characteristics.
Downsides of Embryonic Stem Cells
There are a number of detracting features associated with ESC's. ESC's from a random embryo donor can potentially be rejected after transplantation in a patient (i.e., immunogenic) and are capable of forming tumors or promoting tumor formation (i.e., tumorigenic). Moreover, harvesting stem cells from embryos courts a great deal of controversy as the removal of ESC's invariably results in the destruction of the embryo, bringing into the forefront ethical questions.
Adult Stem Cells
Adult Stem Cells (ASC's) are stem cells that can be retrieved from living adults (and children) and are extractable from most tissues in the body. Some adult stem cells are somewhat specialized in that they cannot be changed into tissues that differ from the ones from which they came—for example, neural stem cells can only differentiate into specialized brain cells, whereas blood stem cells (i.e.,Hematopoetic), can only form specialized cells of the blood system.
Other adult stem cells are more flexible and have been shown to be multipotent, a differentiation capacity that is more limited than pluripotent cells, meaning they can differentiate into several different cells types other than the ones from where they are extracted.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells
A major category of these more flexible adult stem cells is called Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC's), cells from stroma, the connective tissue that surrounds other tissues and organs. Among these connective tissues, the easiest to isolate and commonly used sources of MSC’s are to be found in the umbilical cord (from which Vitro Biopharma derives its stem cell culture)/placenta tissue, the bone marrow, and the adipose tissue (i.e., fat cells).
While bone marrow was the earliest source of MSC’s, stem cells extracted from the umbilical cord/placenta tissue make up ~85% of the global commercialized allogeneic (stem cells harvested from a donor) stem cell market as they a richer source of MSC's (according to some estimates, umbilical cord tissue contains nearly 10 times the amount of stem cells found in bone marrow).
Advantages of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
MSC's (mesenchymal stem cells) do have distinct advantages over ESC's. First, there are no ethical issues associated with harvesting MSC's. Second, research has thus far shown that allogeneic MSC's are neither immunogenic nor tumorigenic allowing them to be immune evasive and not rejected by the recipient. Given these properties, clinical use of allogeneic MSC's may be considered as one of the most promising tools in the regenerative medicine kit.
Can You Activate Your Own Stem Cells?
Stemulife is a novel, patent pending formulation of natural ingredients like curcumin, piperine, and quercetin that have been clinically shown to activate stem cells within the body promoting optimal health along. The natural ingredients present in this stem cell supplement keep the stem cells within your own body in an “active” state so these cells can help heal and provide therapy to the body. Simply take three Stemulife softgels once daily with or without food to naturally activate your own body's stem cells. The stem cells in your body then express higher levels of anti-aging genes, anti-inflammatory properties, and overall cellular health. You can shop Stemulife here.
What Are Stem Cells Summary
There is perhaps no area of medicine today that holds greater promise or garners more excitement than stem cells. There is also no area of medicine or research that is surrounded by as much controversy either. Stem cells have the remarkable ability to become any type of cell in the body. They are undifferentiated and haven’t yet specialized in a particular function or domain. In addition, stem cells can be used to repair damaged organs, bones, cartilage, and also to treat (but not yet cure) various diseases such as Alzheimer’s by making new brain cells or be even used to help repair damaged immune systems.
Stem cells can be largely divided into two categories—Embryonic (ESC's) and Adult. There is actually a third category of stem cells known as Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPSCs).
A major category of the more adaptable adult stem cells are called mesenchymal stem sells (MSC's). These cells are from the stroma, the connective tissue that surrounds other tissues and organs. Among these connective tissues, the easiest to isolate and commonly used sources of MSC’s are to be found in the umbilical cord.
Frequently Asked Questions About Stem Cells
Q: What are stem cells?
A: Stem cells are unspecialized cells. This means they do not yet have a specific function and are capable of becoming any type of cell in the human body. Stem cells can become blood, muscle, tissue, nerve, and just about any other type of cell.
Q: In adults where are the stem cells that make new cells to protect the intestines?
A: Stem cells are located all throughout the body and reside in the brain, blood, bone marrow, muscle, skin, heart, and liver tissues.
Q: What are mesenchymal stem cells?
A: Mesenchymal stem cells are are adult stem cells that are present in multiple tissues, including umbilical cord, bone marrow and fat tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells can self-renew by dividing and can differentiate into multiple tissues including bone, cartilage, muscle and fat cells, and connective tissue.
Q: What can mesenchymal stem cells be used for?
A: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multi-potent (cells that have the ability to self-renew) stem cells found in bone marrow that are important for making and repairing skeletal tissues, such as cartilage, bone and the fat found in bone marrow.
Q: What are embryonic stem cells?
A: Embryonic Stem Cells (ESC’s) are derived from embryos created through in vitro fertilization prior to their implantation in the womb and not from eggs fertilized in a woman’s body. The stem cells are taken from inside the blastocyst (an embryo that is 3-5 days old and contains only 150-or-so cells).
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