Characteristics of embryonic stem cells

 

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) form an internal cellular mass (ECM), or an embryoblast, at an early stage of embryo development.

They are pluripotent.

An important fact that  embryonic stem cells  do not express HLA (human leucocyte antigens), that is, they do not produce tissue compatibility antigens.

Each person has a unique set of these antigens, and their mismatch in the donor and recipient is the most important cause of incompatibility in transplantation.

Accordingly,  embryonic cells can not be rejected by the recipient organism

Characteristics of embryonic stem cells

Pluripotency – the ability to form any of about 200 types of cells in the adult body

Homing – the ability of stem cells, when they enter the body, find the area of ​​damage and fix there, performing the lost function;

Totipotency – the ability to differentiate

Telomerase activity. With each replication, some telomeres are lost (see Hayflick’s Limit). In stem cells there is telomerase activity, the ends of their chromosomes are superimposed, that is, these cells are capable of passing a potentially infinite number of cell  multiplications , they are immortal.


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