Lecture

Stem Cells and Organoid Engineering

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

Description

This lecture explores the rise of organoids and gastruloids through stem cell cultivation, focusing on the self-engineering of animal embryos. It delves into the potential applications of human stem cells in creating various tissues and organs, shedding light on the intricate process of tissue emergence during development. The presentation also discusses the mapping of gene space in the context of embryonic development, showcasing a single-cell resolution atlas of mouse gastrulation and early organogenesis.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Cell biology: Cell signaling

Biological engineering

Biomedical engineering: Tissue engineering

Related concepts (32)

Embryonic stem cell

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells. Isolating the inner cell mass (embryoblast) using immunosurgery results in destruction of the blastocyst, a process which raises ethical issues, including whether or not embryos at the pre-implantation stage have the same moral considerations as embryos in the post-implantation stage of development.

Stem cell

In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage. They are found in both embryonic and adult organisms, but they have slightly different properties in each. They are usually distinguished from progenitor cells, which cannot divide indefinitely, and precursor or blast cells, which are usually committed to differentiating into one cell type.

Adult stem cell

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek σωματικóς, meaning of the body), they can be found in juvenile, adult animals, and humans, unlike embryonic stem cells. Scientific interest in adult stem cells is centered around two main characteristics.

Gastrulation

Gastrulation is the stage in the early embryonic development of most animals, during which the blastula (a single-layered hollow sphere of cells), or in mammals the blastocyst is reorganized into a multilayered structure known as the gastrula. Before gastrulation, the embryo is a continuous epithelial sheet of cells; by the end of gastrulation, the embryo has begun differentiation to establish distinct cell lineages, set up the basic axes of the body (e.g.

Stem-cell therapy

Stem-cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. , the only established therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This usually takes the form of a bone-marrow transplantation, but the cells can also be derived from umbilical cord blood. Research is underway to develop various sources for stem cells as well as to apply stem-cell treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Related lectures (64)

Embryonic Development: Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering

Explores animal embryo development, focusing on stem cells and tissue engineering applications.

Stem Cell Biology: Essentials and Applications

Covers the essentials of stem cell biology, including major types, properties, and applications, as well as challenges in research.

Neurodevelopment: Early Days in Human Embryonic Development

Explores neurodevelopment in human embryos, from neurulation to adult neurogenesis, highlighting the influence of environmental factors and the connection to depression.

Organoids: Model Systems in Tissue Engineering

Explores the development and applications of organoids in tissue engineering and disease modeling using miniature in vitro constructs.

Organs and Organoids: Engineering and Applications