Lecture

Stem Cell Applications: Models, Therapy, and Cloning

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In course

BIO-447: Stem cells and organoids

This course introduces the fundamentals of stem cell biology, with a particular focus on the role of stem cells during development, tissue homeostasis/regeneration and disease, and the generation of organoids from stem cells ...

Description

This lecture covers the applications of embryonic stem cells (ES cells) in biomedical research, including knock-out and transgenic mouse models for studying development, disease mechanisms, and stem cell behavior. It also explores the potential future applications of ES cells in toxicity screening, drug testing, and therapeutic interventions for genetic and neurodegenerative diseases. The Nobel Prize-winning work on gene modifications in mice using ES cells is discussed. The lecture delves into the types of stem cells, including tissue stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), highlighting their potential in regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and drug screening. The challenges and promises of using stem cells in cell therapy, tissue repair, and disease modeling are also addressed.

Instructors (4)

Matthias Lütolf

Matthias Lutolf is Full Professor at EPFL’s Institute of Bioengineering, with a cross appointment in the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering. Lutolf was trained as a Materials Engineer at ETH Zurich where he also carried out his PhD studies (with Jeffrey Hubbell) that were awarded with an ETH medal. He continued his research training as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Stem Cell Biology (with Helen Blau) at Stanford University. He has served as the Director of the Institute of Bioengineering from 2014 to 2018. Lutolf is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of stem cell bioengineering and tissue engineering. His research program uniquely combines stem cell biology with engineering principles and quantitative thinking. His team, composed of engineers, chemists, physicists, cell and developmental biologists, strives to develop technologies that have true biological and medicinal function and applicability. Lutolf’s work has led to more than 110 peer-reviewed scientific publications, many of which published in highly reputed journals, more than 25 patents, and the commercialization of several products. Current research in the Lutolf lab is focused on the bioengineering of miniature tissues, termed organoids, that are generated from self-organizing stem cells.

Freddy Radtke

Freddy Radtke obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Zürich in 1994. In 1995, he started his postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Michel Aguet at Genentech, Inc. (San Francisco, USA). In 1997, he returned to Switzerland with Michel Aguet and finished his postdoctoral fellowship at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) in Lausanne. From 1999‑2005, he was a group leader and Associate Member at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Freddy Radtke then joined ISREC in January 2006 as a senior scientist and in July 2006, he was appointed Associate Professor at the EPFL School of Life Sciences

David Michael Suter

Teaching & PhD PhD Students Ekaterina Lyublinskaya, Yuliia Romaniuk, Joanna Agnieszka Dembska, Solomon Nshemereirwe Past EPFL PhD Students Onur Tidin, Aleksandra Mandic, Daniel Strebinger, Andrea Brigitta Alber, Mahé Raccaud, Torgil Elias Friman, Shoujie Sun, Silja Michelle Placzek, Romane Mizeret, Benjamin Martin, Sim Sakong, Stella Katharina Krämer Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Damien Lionel Nicolas, Isabelle Chareyron, Christopher Tadhg James Wall, Kolly Dominique Courses Immunology BI

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biological engineering

Biomedical engineering: Tissue engineering

Related concepts (32)

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.

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.

Stem-cell line

A stem cell line is a group of stem cells that is cultured in vitro and can be propagated indefinitely. Stem cell lines are derived from either animal or human tissues and come from one of three sources: embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, or induced stem cells. They are commonly used in research and regenerative medicine. Stem cell By definition, stem cells possess two properties: (1) they can self-renew, which means that they can divide indefinitely while remaining in an undifferentiated state; and (2) they are pluripotent or multipotent, which means that they can differentiate to form specialized cell types.

Stem cell controversy

The stem cell controversy is the consideration of the ethics of research involving the development and use of human embryos. Most commonly, this controversy focuses on embryonic stem cells. Not all stem cell research involves human embryos. For example, adult stem cells, amniotic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells do not involve creating, using, or destroying human embryos, and thus are minimally, if at all, controversial.

Amniotic stem cells

Amniotic stem cells are the mixture of stem cells that can be obtained from the amniotic fluid as well as the amniotic membrane. They can develop into various tissue types including skin, cartilage, cardiac tissue, nerves, muscle, and bone. The cells also have potential medical applications, especially in organ regeneration. The stem cells are usually extracted from the amniotic sac by amniocentesis which occurs without harming the embryos.

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