Question

How does a cell differentiate?

Answer 1

Cellular Differentiation:

1. Cell differentiation is the process through which identically derived cells give rise to cell types with various shapes and functions.
2. Gene expression alterations lead to cell differentiation.
3. This happens when various environmental signalling molecules activate or repress certain transcription factors that are required to express particular genes in the DNA.
4. Inside cells, DNA is arranged into chromosomes.
5. A multicellular organism needs differentiated cells because it can carry out specialized tasks for the body.
6. The differentiated cells frequently lose their capacity to proliferate.
7. The specific expression of the genome over time and space occurs during cell development.
8. A cell just needs to alter the genes that will be expressed for differentiation into its unique form and function.
9. Transcription factors are the main process by which genes are turned "on" or "off."

Different types of stem cells:

1. A pluripotent stem cell has the potential to differentiate into many types of tissues but cannot support the full development of an organism.
2. These are present in the inner cell mass of the blastocyst stage.
3. A multipotent stem cell has the potential to differentiate into different cell lineages, such as red blood cells or white blood cells.
4. An oligopotent stem cell is limited to a few different cell types.
5. A unipotent cell is fully specialized and can only differentiate to generate more of its own specific cell type.