Potent Biology: Stem Cells, Cloning and Regeneration

Lecture 1 – Understanding Embryonic Stem Cells

by Douglas A. Melton, PhD
  1.  1.  Start of Lecture 1
  2.  2.  Welcome by HHMI President Dr. Thomas Cech
  3.  3.  Dr. Melton in the lab
  4.  4.  Introduction to stem cells
  5.  5.  Development is growth and differentiation
  6.  6.  The variety of cell types in the human body
  7.  7.  Animation: Human embryonic development
  8.  8.  Germ layer make specific tissues
  9.  9.  Animation: Germ layers and cell fate
  10. 10.  The pancreas: Structure and function
  11. 11.  Function of specific pancreatic cells
  12. 12.  Role of the pancreas in diabetes
  13. 13.  Progressive development creates specialized cells
  14. 14.  Demo: Using a DNA chip to study gene expression
  15. 15.  Genes are turned on and off at each step of differentiation
  16. 16.  Differentiation is like making life decisions
  17. 17.  Cytoplasmic factors affect cell fate
  18. 18.  Cell-cell interaction also affects cell fate
  19. 19.  Q&A: How many genes are involved in differentiation?
  20. 20.  Q&A: Does the ectoderm determine pigmentation?
  21. 21.  Q&A: Does a cell respond to multiple growth factors?
  22. 22.  Q&A: Can you change gene expression to change cell types?
  23. 23.  Q&A: Can cells be changed in vitro with chemical factors?
  24. 24.  Q&A: Do internal/external factors influence cells simultaneously?
  25. 25.  Body maintenance and cell renewal
  26. 26.  Different cell types have different renewal rates
  27. 27.  Stem cells are responsible for maintenance and repair
  28. 28.  Two essential properties of stem cells
  29. 29.  Blood stem cells can replenish and differentiate
  30. 30.  A single blood stem cell can replenish an entire animal
  31. 31.  Some cell types replenish by division, not by stem cells
  32. 32.  A pulse-chase experiment on pancreatic cell replacement
  33. 33.  New pancreatic β cells are from division, not stem cells
  34. 34.  In type I diabetes, no new β cells can be made
  35. 35.  Embryonic stem (ES) cells and their traits
  36. 36.  How are ES cells derived?
  37. 37.  Animation: ES cell creation
  38. 38.  Confirming that ES cells are totipotent
  39. 39.  Deriving human ES cells and their potential usefulness
  40. 40.  Video: Human ES cells differentiating into heart cells
  41. 41.  Q&A: Would transplanted ES cells differentiate properly?
  42. 42.  Q&A: What stimulates production of external/internal factors?
  43. 43.  Closing remarks by HHMI President Dr. Thomas Cech


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