STEM CELLS
Stem cells are the smart undifferentiated cells living within every differentiated cell or tissue of the body. Stem cells have two remarkable property, Self regeneration and Differentiation. Self-regeneration is the ability of stem cells to divide and produce more stem cells. During early development, the cell division is symmetrical i.e. each cell divides to gives rise to daughter cells each with the same potential. Later in development, the cell divides asymmetrically with one of the daughter cells produced being a stem cell and the other a more differentiated cell. The cell becomes a progenitor cell or a Transit amplifying cell before differentiating in to fully mature cell type.
Stem cell biology is a promising and emerging field of life sciences. Currently it is the most vibrant biological research activity all over. This is evidently a reflection of the fact that these cells have the capacity of self renewal and potentials to differentiate in to one or more cell types depending on signals in vivo. There are various types of stem cells from various sources like embryo, fetus and adult tissues. The applications of such cells clearly go beyond medical investigations as they have possibly be used in the treatment of diseases like parkinsonism, Alzheimer’s, Myocardial infarction, liver cirrhosis and neurodegenerative disorders, for development of in vitro assay system for drug discovery and toxicity, for understanding basic developmental process.
