Evaluation of the evidence for and against stem cell plasticity Article

Evaluation of the evidence for and against stem cell plasticity - Article Example This can be translated to mean that the highly regenerative tissues have stem cells while those that are poor regenerators lack stem cells (Frank, Schatton & Frank 2010, p. 41). However, cells that have been believed to be non-regenerators such as the heart and the brain have lately shown signs of regeneration. This has opened the doors for researches in stem cell population and their regenerative potential. Studies of tissue injury repair have discovered that there is a strong support for important stem cell functions in the hematopoietic system, dermal epithelium, intestinal epithelium, and skeletal muscle. This is a clear indication that stem cell plasticity can be of high importance in repairing of damaged cells in these tissues (Langer, Vacanti &Lanza 2014, p. 231). Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) exist predominantly in the bone marrow of human beings. They have always been known to serve the purpose of generation all lineages of mature blood cell types that are needed for the maintenance of proper hematopoietic function (Cetrulo, Cetrulo&Cetrulo 2009, p. 234). However, a series of studies have challenged this assertion. These studies suggest that if bone marrow cells are enriched by hematopoietic stem cell activity, they could appear to be of contribution to the lower levels of multiple nonhematopoietic tissues because of injured or irradiated recipients (Bhattacharya & Stubblefield 2014, p. 199). These studies reveal that these activities can result to nonhematopoietic cells within the skin, intestinal epithelium, lung epithelium, kidney epithelium, pancreas, liver parenchyma, skeletal muscle, and myocardium. Some of the support for the stem cell plasticity comes from opposes of abortion. The main reason as to why this group of people is in support of stem cell plasticity is the fact that a majority of stem cell researchers always use embryos that were created in virto fertility treatment. These are the embryos that were produced but were never used. Most