Stem Cells Talks

Everything you need to know about stem cells!

What do these have in common???

Dr. James Till and Dr. Ernest McCulloch

– first discovered the existence of

bone marrow stem cells

STEM CELLS!!

Dr. Robert Edwards - 2010 Nobel Prize in

Medicine for the discovery of IVF

Newts have the amazing ability to

regenerate

Stem cells are big news in medicine right now. Not a day goes by when there aren't articles or

something on the Web about it. As you get older, you're bound to hear more and more

about stem cells.

Why stem cells?

What do you know about stem cells?

•What is a stem cell?•Where do stem cells come from?•What can stem cells be used for?

Your body is made up of millions and millions of cells. You have skin cells, blood cells, bone cells, brain cells, muscle cells…they all come from ONE cell.

The beauty of human beings...this is what stem cells are for!

There are 2 main types of

stem cells:

MULTIPOTENT

PLURIPOTENT

They are fundamental for organ regeneration after injury

Some type of stem cells can be used to treat diseases ( ie: bone marrow stem cells for leukemia or multiple sclerosis)

Most studied ( we know more about how they function)

No ethical issues

MULTIPOTENT STEM CELLS

also called adult

Can you name some organs where you can find stem cells in your body?

What are they need for?

How often does your blood regenerate?

How often does your skin regenerate?

How often does your intestine regenerate?

Limitations:

Limited ability to proliferate

Limited plasticity ( ability to trans differentiate)

Difficult to harvest ( we don't have that many)

Hard to maintain in culture without them losing their stemness ( ie once outside their niche they quickly differentiate)

Cannot treat all type of diseases

they derive from embryos

They make up the entire organism

Unlimited ability to proliferate ( you can get millions of esc from 16 initial cells)

Maximum degree of plasticity

They are considered the true stem cells

LIMITATIONS:

hESC research is allowed only with discarded IVF embryos

Its illegal to sell eggs or create embryos for research purposes

They can easily give rise to teratomas

Fewer clinical trials

Not well known/studied

Ethical issues related with embryo manipulation

Research on ESCs allows scientists to understand what are the genes that maintain a cell in a stemness condition

PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS also called embryonic

stem cells

What is the closest type of stem cells that resembles

ESC?

Where are they found?

What can they be used for?

Adult versus Embryonic Stem cells:

Is that the question?????????

adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell–like state

Although these cells meet the defining criteria for pluripotent stem cells, it is not known if iPSCs and embryonic stem cells differ in clinically significant ways.

Mouse iPSCs were first reported in 2006, and human iPSCs were first reported in late 2007.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (commonly abbreviated as iPS cells)

Why talk about stem cells?

The goal of stem cell research is to help people live better

The goal of stem cell research is to help people live better

Dr Freda Miller is just one of many stem cells scientists with a dream…

And now it’s YOUR turn……

But before that Dr Bartha has something to share with you!

“ I think of bioethics as a neutral territory where people with different views come together for a FREE

and OPEN discussion”

LEADING QUESTIONS:•WHOM WILL STEM CELL REASEARCH HELP?

•DOES IT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO HURT ANYONE?

•WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME, MY FAMILY, FOR OTHER AROUND ME?

•HOW FAR SHOULD RESEARCHERS TAKE STEM CELL TECHNOLOGIES?

• IN OTHER WORDS, JUST BECAUSE WE CAN DO SOMETHING SHOULD WE? WHY OR WHY NOT?

•SHOULD THERE BE LAWS TO REGULATE STEM CELLS RESEARCH? IF SO, WHAT WOULD THEY LOOK LIKE?

•DO EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS REPRESENT A HUMAN LIFE? WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DECIDE?

•WHAT IS THE IMPACT THAT MEDIA HAVE IN THE STEM CELLS DEBATE? IN OTHER WORDS, HOW IMPORTANT IS TO OBTAIN THE RIGHT INFORMATION FROM THE RIGHT SOURCE? Is it easy to find info about stem cells? is the info confusing or hard to understand?

StemCellTalks SymposiumOpening dialogue on stem cell science and practical ethics

When: Spring 2013 Where: Tabaret Hall, OttawaU main campusHow: Registration is mandatory.

EMAIL US FOR MORE INFO!

For info/inquiries: stemcelltalksottawa@gmail.comRegistration form available at : www.stemcelltalksottawa.ca

If you would like to learn more:www.stemcellnetwork.cawww.stemcellcharter.org