Unspecialized cells capable of their own renewal

Develop into 3 primary germ cell layers of the early embryo & into extra-embryonic tissues
[ such as placenta ]

Differentiate into only one specific cell type & form a single lineage
[ such as muscle stem cells ]

Pharmaceuticals
[ Diabetes, cardiac anomalies, and infertility ]

Neutraceuticals
[ Produce heterologous nutrients ]

Germ stem cells challenge the age-old dogma of female born with a fixed number of oocytes

Animal model testing for pharmaceutical research

Use of stem cells in transplantation & cell replacement therapy

Understanding fundamental events in embryonic development

To resolve mysteries of developmental biology

To investigate genes involved in differentiation & development

Characterization of biochemical markers
[ such as tissue specific enzymatic activity ]

Expression of genes that are unique to a particular cell type

Nuclear chromosomal karyotype to access genetic stability

Includes stem cells isolated from fetal & cord blood

Used to treat patients
[ haematological malignancies ▶ diseases of immune system ]

Able to specialize in many different tissue types
[Pluripotent]

Can restore function in animal models following transplantation

Can create stem cells directly from a patient for research

Give rise to mature cells having characteristic morphologies & specialized functions