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What does it mean that some cell populations have self-renewing multipotent stem cells?

User James Eby
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Final answer:

Some cell populations having self-renewing multipotent stem cells mean they can replicate to create identical stem cells and differentiate into various cell types within a certain lineage, like blood cells from multipotent hemopoietic stem cells.

Step-by-step explanation:

When referring to some cell populations having self-renewing multipotent stem cells, it means that these cells possess the ability to both self-replicate, creating new stem cells, and also to differentiate into various cell types within a specific lineage. For example, a multipotent hemopoietic stem cell can give rise to different blood cells such as red blood cells and white blood cells but is limited to cells within the blood lineage.

Stem cells are categorized based on their potential to differentiate into other cell types. At the top of the hierarchy are totipotent cells, like the zygote, which can develop into any cell type in the body. Below them are pluripotent stem cells, which can differentiate into almost any cell type but cannot form an entire organism. Following this are the multipotent stem cells, which have a more limited range, turning into cells of a specific lineage, such as bone marrow stem cells that become various blood cells. Further specialization leads to oligopotent and unipotent cells, which can differentiate into only a few or a single cell type, respectively.

User Neil Griffin
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