Facts about Stem Cell Differentiation
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Induced pluripotent stem cells, reprogrammed from adult cells back to a stem-like state, can then be guided to differentiate into neurons, heart cells, or pancreatic cells in the laboratory.
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Bone marrow transplantation works by introducing donor hematopoietic stem cells that differentiate into all mature blood cell types, replacing a patient's diseased blood system.
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Transcription factors such as MyoD can drive stem cell differentiation toward muscle cells by binding DNA and activating muscle-specific gene programs.
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Signals from the surrounding cellular microenvironment, called the stem cell niche, play a critical role in directing stem cell differentiation toward specific tissue types.
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Totipotent stem cells, capable of forming an entire organism, gradually restrict their developmental potential as they differentiate into pluripotent, multipotent, and finally unipotent cells.
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During stem cell differentiation, pluripotent cells commit to specialized lineages through epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation and histone modification, that silence or activate specific genes.