Complete the account of stem-cell potency.
A ______ stem cell can give rise to an entire organism, a ______ one to any cell of the body but not to the supporting tissues, and a ______ one only to a limited family of related types. Adult tissues retain the last kind, which is why the ______ lining of the gut renews itself continuously.
Word bank: totipotent · pluripotent · multipotent · epithelial · differentiated
Hints
- The three terms run from most to least flexible.
- Adult tissues keep only the most restricted of the three.
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A totipotent stem cell can give rise to an entire organism, a pluripotent one to any cell of the body but not to the supporting tissues, and a multipotent one only to a limited family of related types. Adult tissues retain the last kind, which is why the epithelial lining of the gut renews itself continuously.
Potency narrows as development proceeds. Adult tissues keep multipotent cells for renewal, which is why gut lining and skin replace themselves constantly while neurons, lacking such a reserve, largely do not.
Practise From Single Cells to Multicellular Bodies
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