Biotechnology in Stem Cell Therapy
Introduction
Biotechnology entails the utilization of biology in making useful products that foster quality living. Medicine applies several methods of biotechnology, like gene treatment and genetic engineering. Stem cell application uses clonogenic and self-renewing mechanisms resulting in numerous cell lineages. More so, they are capable of repairing body tissues and regeneration. The discussion focuses on the role of biotechnology in cell therapy.
Classification of Stem Cells
Scientists group stem cells according to their degree of potency. This classification focuses on the rate at which stem cells differentiate into other cell kinds. For instance, totipotent changes into all possible cell kinds and includes a zygote that forms after fertilization (Kalra & Tomar, 2014). Pluripotent adjusts into almost all tissue types, while multipotent alters into a closely connected family of cells. Oligopotent involves stem cells that change into a few cells like lymphoid, whereas unipotent only yield their cell kinds. The second classification of stem cells focuses on their sources. In this category, embryonic stem cells include self-replicating pluripotent cells that are eternal and are sourced from embryos during the development stage, which is usually four to five days. On the other hand, adult stem cells refer to undifferentiated multipotent cells that are present in the body after embryonic development. Notably, adult stem cells replenish dying cells since they increase through cell division. Scientists have recently grouped pluripotent stem cells because they portray similar traits as embryonic stem cells.
Stem Cell culture
In stem culture, doctors generate Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) by relocating embryos in the preimplantation stage into a culture dish in a laboratory. Ideally, the dish contains nutrients that enable the cells to divide. If the plated cells divide adequately to the extent that they crowd the dish, they are transferred gently into other dishes. The fresh culture dishes facilitate passage, which results in the establishment of cell lines that forms millions of other embryonic stem cells.
Application of Stem Cells
Brain Cell Transplant
Stem cells replenish dopamine, which is an important chemical in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Stem cell boosts loss of cells which in turn enhance the production of neurotransmitter dopamine (Kalra & Tomar, 2014). Studies indicate that the first fetal cell transplants for Parkinson’s infection were successful because of the presence of dopamine, which is released by the transplanted cells. This led to an improvement in the clinical symptoms. Nonetheless, the side effects of the stem cell transplant were present among some patients. The impact of too much dopamine undermined the well-being of some victims.
Treatment of Diabetes
Diabetes is rampant in society since it emanates from the abnormal metabolism of insulin. Insulin originates from the islets of the Langerhans located in the pancreas (Kalra & Tomar, 2014). Researchers obtain insulin from the stem cell of a mouse, which looks like pancreatic islets and excretes insulin. The use of a mouse stem cell enables people living with diabetes to avoid constant injection of insulin into their blood system.
Future Research
Ongoing and future research on stem cell therapies enables doctors to develop a cure for diseases that initially lacked treatment. Stem cell therapy ought to focus more on bone marrow uproot, organ improvement, and replacement of worn-out tissues like cochlear cells. In conclusion, the federal system ought to fund research on stem cell therapy because it improves the quality of life.
References
Kalra, K., & Tomar, P. C. (2014). Stem cell: basics, classification and applications. American Journal of Phytomedicine and Clinical Therapeutics, 2(7), 919-930. Retrieved from https://www.imedpub.com/articles/stem-cell-basics-classification-andapplications.pdf