1. Introduction to Stem Cells The recearch today By Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Iliana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 7 th Vocational School of Patras Greece

2. What are Stem Cells? Stem cells are undifferentiated multipotent precursor cells that are capable both of perpetuating themselves as stem cells and of undergoing differentiation into one or more specialized types of cells. Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Iliana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 2

3. Where do stem cells come from? Stem cells are found in the human body in many different tissues including bone marrow, brain, blood, skeletal muscle, fat, and the skin. Stem cells are also found in placenta tissue and umbilical cord blood after birth. Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 3 Embryonic Stem CellsAdult Stem Cells

4. Varius Sources of Stem Cells Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 4 Adult Tissue Hematopoietic Stem Cells Mesenchymal Stem Cells MAPCs Neural Stem Cells Muscle Derived Stem Cells Pancreatic Stem Cells Hepatic Stem Cells Epithelial Stem Cells Cord Blood And Placenta Fetal Tissue Embryos (ESCs)

5. The Different Stem Cells Types and Their Properties Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 5 EmbryonicAdultCord Blood PluripotencypyTotipotent: Can develop into any cell type found in the adult human. Have the most potential and broadest potential market as human therapeutics. Depends on where it is harvested from. May be able to differentiate it to a few different cell types, depending on the source of the cells. Contains hematopoietic stem cells that can reconstitute the immunological system, plus other components of blood and bone marrow. Self-Renewal in vitro UnlimitedLimited. Ethical/Political Issues Regarding Research and Usage Various Issues and Restrictions on Research and Usage, especially in the. No issues.

6. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 6 ALS mutant motor neurons

7. Embryonic stem cells Stem cells called embryonic stem cells develop very early in the human embryo days after fertilization. In fact, embryonic stem cells are the basic building blocks of every other tissue in the human body and during development, the embryo directs certain embryonic stem cells to become bone tissue, others to become nerve tissue, etc. until the embryonic stem cells transform into each of the other kinds of cells and tissues which make up the human body. Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 7

8. Potential of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) to Differentiate Into All Adult Cell Types Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 8

9. Stem Cell Derivation from Blastocysts The development of a human begins with fertilization, a process by which the spermatozoon from the male and the oocyte from the female unite to give rise to a new organism, the zygote. Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 9

10. Two Distinct Types of Human Embryo Donation Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 10

11. Blastocysts are donated by couples after In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycles Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 11

12. Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) are derived from the Inner Cell Mass (ICM) of the blastocyst Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 12

13. The Inner Cell Mass (ICM) Gives Rise to ESCs Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 13

14. Adult Stem Cells vs. Embryonic Stem Cells Benefits in Human Patients (from Peer-Reviewed Studies) Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 14 Adult Stem Cells Cells Embryonic Stem Cells Cancers:Auto-Immune Diseases: Neural Degenerative Diseases and Injuries: 1. Brain Cancer 2. Retinoblastoma 3. Ovarian Cancer 4. Skin Cancer: Merkel Cell Carcinoma 5. Testicular Cancer 6. Tumors Abdominal Organs Lymphoma 7. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma 8. Hodgkin’s Lymphoma 9. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia 10. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia 11. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia 12. Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia 13. Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia 14. Cancer Of The Lymph Nodes: Angioimmunoblastic Lymphadenopathy 15. Multiple Myeloma 16. Myelodysplasia 17. Breast Cancer 18. Neuroblastoma 19. Renal Cell Carcinoma 20. Soft Tissue Sarcoma 21. Various Solid Tumors 22. Ewing’s Sarcoma 23. Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia 24. Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis 25. Poems Syndrome 26. Myelofibrosis 27. Diabetes Type I (Juvenile) 28. Systemic Lupus 29. Sjogren’s Syndrome 30. Myasthenia 31. Autoimmune Cytopenia 32. Scleromyxedema 33. Scleroderma 34. Crohn’s Disease 35. Behcet’s Disease 36. Rheumatoid Arthritis 37. Juvenile Arthritis 38. Multiple Sclerosis 39. Polychondritis 40. Systemic Vasculitis 41. Alopecia Universalis 42. Buerger’s Disease 49. Parkinson’s Disease 50. Spinal Cord Injury 51. Stroke Damage None Anemias And Other Blood Conditions: 52. Sickle Cell Anemia 53. Sideroblastic Anemia 54. Aplastic Anemia 55. Red Cell Aplasia 56. Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia 57. Thalassemia 58. Primary Amyloidosis 59. Diamond Blackfan Anemia 60. Fanconi’s Anemia 61. Chronic Epstein-Barr Infection Cardiovascular:Wounds And Injuries: 43. Acute Heart Damage 44. Chronic Coronary Artery Disease 62. Limb Gangrene 63. Surface Wound Healing 64. Jawbone Replacement 65. Skull Bone Repair Ocular: 45. Corneal RegenerationOther Metabolic Disorders: 66. Hurler’s Syndrome 67. Osteogenesis Imperfecta 68. Krabbe Leukodystrophy 69. Osteopetrosis 70. Cerebral X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy Immunodeficiencies: 46. Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome 47. X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Syndrome 48. X-Linked Hyper Immunoglobulin M Syndrome Liver Disease 71. Chronic Liver Failure 72. Liver Cirrhosis Bladder Disease 73. End-Stage Bladder Disease

15. Why is stem cell research controversial? (1) Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 15 The short answer is that embryonic stem cell research relies on cloning and/or killing embryonic human beings. But it is very important to know that not all stem cell research is controversial. In fact, most stem cell research is not. Over the last few years scientists have used what are known as "adult stem cells" to treat or cure 73 different illnesses in human patients. This adult stem cell research typically uses a patient's own stem cells for treatment.

16. Why is stem cell research controversial? (2) Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 16 However, embryonic stem cell research requires the destruction of embryonic human life - that is living, human embryos. To obtain embryonic stem cells a human embryo is encouraged to grow for 5-7 days until the embryo develops stem cells. The stem cells are then extracted from the embryo and the embryo is killed. Each human being begins his or her life as a human embryo. To say "embryo" is not unlike saying fetus, infant, toddler, child, adolescent, and adult. It is an important stage of human development, the beginning stage of development of each human being.

17. What does in vitro fertilization have to do with stem cell research? (1) Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 17 In vitro fertilization is the process whereby sperm are encouraged to fertilize human eggs in an artificial environment such as a test tube or Petri dish. In vitro can be translated to mean "in glass." Because of the inherent failure rate of this process, many embryos are created, but only a few are chosen to be implanted into a mother's womb. Those that are not implanted are frozen indefinitely and retained in IVF clinics. The Rand Institute estimated there are approximately 400,000 frozen human embryos in existence today but only a fraction of these embryos would be eligible for research use

18. What does in vitro fertilization have to do with stem cell research? (2) Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 18 Some scientists and others claim that these embryos will be "thrown away anyway" so why not use them for research? Because two wrongs don't make a right. Just because some human beings are going to die, doesn’t give others a right to kill. But it is not necessarily true that these embryos must be "thrown away." There are organizations dedicated to promoting and facilitating embryo adoption for couples who wish to love and raise children and at the same time save these tiny human beings from certain death.

19. What does human cloning have to do with embryonic stem cell research? Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 19 In 1995 a sheep was successfully cloned and named "Dolly." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_the_sheep) Since then, some scientists believe that humans, too, can be cloned. By cloning human embryos, scientists could theoretically produce human embryos that would be genetically identical to the donors who supplied the genetic information for the new cloned human being.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_the_sheep Theoretically, there is a medical advantage to this approach over using foreign in vitro fertilized embryos which have immuno rejection problems.

20. Are there ethical alternatives to human cloning and embryonic stem cell research? Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 20 Yes. As discussed in another slide, adult stem cells and other kinds of stem cells that do not require destroying human life have proven to be successful in treating or curing 73 different diseases in human patients

21. Stem Cell Research Worldwide Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 21 Asia Europe ChinaChzech Republic IndiaDenmark IsraelFinland JapanFrance KoreaGermany SingaporeItaly Netherlands Australia Russia Sweden North America Switzerland CanadaUnited Kingdom United States of America

22. Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 22

23. References Cancun Stem Cell Clinic (http://www.cancunstemcellclinic.com) http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/CheckTheScore.pdf http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/defaultpage.asp http://www.usnews.com/health/blogs/heart-to- heart/2009/3/4/why-embryonic-stem-cells-are- obsolete.html http://www.stemcellnews.com/diseases.htm http://article.nationalreview.com/334659/stem-cell- success-story/the-editors Thanasis Roussos, Antonis Argyropoulos,, Peny Chatzianastasiou, Liana Bakali, Paschalis Papanelopoulos, Aggelos Koutsodimas 23