Brief description of the function of haematopoietic stem cells.
Excerpts from previous naturopathy assignments HLT60512. Brief description of the function of haematopoietic stem cells.
NIH reports that Stem cells can develop into different types of cells and can serve as an internal repair system in the tissues they occupy. They have the potential to remain a stem cell or become a different type of cell to carry out various functions e.g. ‘a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell…In some organs, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions (NIH.Gov, 2015). See appendix. 10
Describe the function of Stem Cells (NIH.Gov, 2015)
There are many types of stem cells, following are some examples from NIH Stem Cell Basics 2015
NIH Stem Cell Basics 2015: ‘Haematopoietic stem cell—A stem cell that gives rise to all red and white blood cells and platelets’
NIH Stem Cell Basics 2015 ‘Bone marrow stromal stem cells (skeletal stem cells)—A multipotent subset of bone marrow stromal cells able to form bone, cartilage, stromal cells that support blood formation, fat, and fibrous tissue’
NIH Stem Cell Basics 2015 ‘Human embryonic stem cell (hESCs). A type of pluripotent stem cell derived from early-stage human embryos, up to and including the blastocyst stage. hESCs are capable of dividing without differentiating for a prolonged period in culture and are known to develop into cells and tissues of the three primary germ layers. blastocyst, and germ layers’
NIH Stem Cell Basics 2015 Multipotent ‘Having the ability to develop into more than one cell type of the body’
NIH Stem Cell Basics 2015 ‘Mesenchymal stem cells: A term that is currently used to define non-blood adult stem cells from a variety of tissues, although it is not clear that mesenchymal stem cells from different tissues are the same’
NIH Stem Cell Basics 2015 ‘Neural stem cell: A stem cell found in adult neural tissue that can give rise to neurons and glial
(supporting) cells. Examples of glial cells include astrocytes and oligodendrocytes’
NIH Stem Cell Basics 2015 Somatic (adult) stem cell: ‘A relatively rare undifferentiated cell found in many organs and differentiated tissues with a limited capacity for both self-renewal (in the laboratory) and differentiation. Such cells vary in their differentiation capacity, but it is usually limited to cell types in the organ of origin. This is an active area of investigation.
Heather Indiana Rose
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