BRAINCAKEPluripotent, Multipotent and Unipotent Stem Cells
As an embryo develops, its stem cells gradually lose potency.
Pluripotent stem cells are found in embryos (in the inner cell mass of the blastocyst). They can divide in unlimited numbers and can differentiate into almost any type of cell in the body. They cannot produce the placenta, so a pluripotent cell cannot form a whole organism on its own.
Multipotent stem cells are found in mature mammals. They can divide to form only a limited number of different cell types, usually those of one tissue. Stem cells in bone marrow, for example, produce red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
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More in Control of Gene Expression
- Totipotent Stem Cells
- Stem Cells in Mature Plants
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
- Stem Cells in Treating Disease
- Transcription Factors
- Oestrogen and the Initiation of Transcription
- RNA Interference (siRNA and miRNA)
- Epigenetics
All 18 lessons in Control of Gene Expression · All AQA A-level Biology topics