ANIMAL CELL TECHNOLOGY

Lecturer: Nguyen Thi Hong Minh

Email: nguyen-thi-hong.minh@usth.edu.vn
Tel. 094 393 6511
Stem cells
 A life story…
the
fertilized
egg

… lots of different types of cells must be made

Stem cell definition

 Stem cells are a special kind of cell that have the ability to divide
indefinitely and have the potential to give rise to specialized
cells

 Stem cells are one of the most fascinating areas of biology today

Question: Stem cells themselves are present in very low numbers.

Is it true or false?
 Other terms in Stem cells
 Totipotent: Capable of giving rise to all tissues and organs, including
placenta.

 Pluripotent: Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to give rise to various
types of cells that develop from the three germ layers (mesoderm,
endoderm and ectoderm). They have the potential to generate into
every cell type in the body, but cannot develop into an embryo on its
own

 Multipotent: Multipotent stem cells are those which are capable of

giving rise to several different types of specialized cells constituting a
specific tissue or organ

 Unipotent: Cells can produce only one cell type, their own, but have the
property of self-renewal. They have the lowest differentiation potential
 What is a stem cell?
stem cell

SELF-RENEWAL DIFFERENTIATION
(copying) (specializing)

specialized cell
stem cell
e.g. muscle cell, nerve cell

Question: Specialized cells can divide to make copies of themselves?

 This cell can form the
embryo and placenta

This cell can just form

the embryo
Hematopoietic stem cells
 Induced pluripotent stem cells are a
type of pluripotent stem cell
artificially derived from a non-
pluripotent cell - typically an adult
somatic cell - by inducing a "forced"
expression of specific genes. These
are not adult stem cells but are
created from adult skin cells after
genetically programming them to
become pluripotent stem cells
 Cloning

There are two VERY different types of cloning:

Reproductive cloning Molecular cloning

gene 1

gene 2

Use to make two identical individuals Use to study what a gene does

Very difficult to do Routine in the biology labs

Illegal to do on humans
 Reproductive cloning

cell from the body egg

take the nucleus remove nucleus

(containing DNA) and take the
rest of the cell

Clone
identical to the individual
that gave the nucleus
Dolly the sheep
Cell-based gene therapy
 Gene therapy

 GT is an experimental technique that uses

genes to treat or prevent disease.

 GT refers to the insertion of genetic

material to correct a genetic defect

 In the future, this technique may allow

doctors to treat a disorder by inserting a
gene into a patient’s cells instead of using
drugs or surgery
 Application of medical biotechnology:
Gene therapy

 Concepts of gene therapy techniques

• Replacement of an abnormal gene with
normal gene
• Repairing the abnormal gene
• Altering how that gene is controlled
• Inserting correct protein and bypass
gene function
 Genome targeting technologies

3+ ZF modules, 3bp
each x2 for
specificity fused to a
nuclease

10+ TAL modules, 1 bp

each x2 for specificity
fused to a nuclease

1 targeting RNA
bound by a
nuclease
17
 What are vectors and why are they needed?

 To transfer the desired gene into a target cell, a carrier is

required. Such vehicles of gene delivery are known as vectors

 Different carrier systems are used for gene delivery

 Viral systems
 Non viral systems

 Vectors are needed since the genetic material has to be

transferred across the cell membrane and preferably into the
cell nucleus
Where to introduce the genes

 Somatic cells or the Germ line cells are the cells to

accept the introduced genes
 Based on the type of cells involved the gene therapy
can be:
 Somatic cell therapy
 Germ line therapy
 Germ line gene therapy

 Normal version of gene is inserted into germ cells

 Those germ cells will divide normal versions of the gene
 Any zygote produced as a result of this germ cell will have a correct
version of the defective gene and will continue passing it on to
their offspring
 Somatic cell gene therapy

 Single defective cell taken out of an individual’s body

 Functional version of gene introduced into cell in a lab
 Cells reproduce
 Copies of cells with a corrected version of the gene is injected back
into the patient
 The good gene ends with the patient and is not inherited by their
offspring
 Application of medical biotechnology:
Gene therapy

 Approaches in GT:

 In vivo GT: direct delivery of genes into the cells of a particular

tissue in the body

 Ex vivo GT: transfer of genes to cultured cells and reinsertion

 Application of medical biotechnology:
Gene therapy

 Approaches in GT
 However …

 Gene therapy is still in its early stages and is far from

perfection
 It can only be used in diseases caused by a single gene
malfunction
 Many diseases are caused by multiple genes
 It can be hard to get a good gene to the specific place it
needs to be
 More damage can be caused by genes being put in the wrong
place
 Death can result due to infections and invasions of other
viruses
 Thalassemia

Thalassemias are inherited blood disorders characterized by abnormal hemoglobin

production
Current approaches to gene therapy for the major
hemoglobin disorders
2D & 3D cell culture
Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Scaffold-free 3D cell culture
techniques
3D cell culture for tissue engineering

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338018342_PolyVinyl_Alcohol-
Based_Nanofibrous_Electrospun_Scaffolds_for_Tissue_Engineering_Applications/figures?lo=1