Types of Stem Cells - Biology

Types of Stem Cells

Types of Stem Cells

Stem cells are found in all of us, from the early stages of human development to the end of life. All stem cells may prove useful for medical research, but each of the different types has both promise and limitations. Embryonic stem cells, which can be derived from a very early stage in human development, have the potential to produce all of the body’s cell types. Adult stem cells, which are found in certain tissues in fully developed humans, from babies to adults, may be lim-ited to producing only certain types of specialized cells. Recently, scientists have also identified stem cells in umbilical cord blood and the placenta that can give rise to the various types of blood cells. 

Embryonic stem cells (also known as ES cells) come from a 4 to 7-day-old embryo. They have the ability to form virtually any type of cell found in the human body.

Adult stem cells are more specialized than embryonic stem cells. They are found in the majority of tissues and organs in our body and generate the mature cell types within that tissue or organ. They have a restricted ability to produce different cell types and to self-renew.

Stem cells that have the potential to develop into any of the celltypea found in an adult organism are called pluripotent. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent.

Stem cells that only have the potential to make a few cell types in the body are called multipotent. Adult stem cells are multipotent.