cell proliferation and cell differentiation

Question

Explain the relationship between cell proliferation and cell differentiation. What is dedifferentiation? Please give an example ofdedifferentiation issue in cell culture applications.

Answer 1

1. Proliferation: Expansion or replication of the number of a single kind of cell through the process of cell division
2. Example: Cells in the developing fetal liver divide in the growing fetus, giving rise to more liver cells.
3. Differentiation: Process by which a less specialized cell (such as a pluripotent stem cell) changes into a different, often more-specialized cell
4. Example: Hematopoietic stem cell changes (differentiates) into a white blood cell, through a process known as hematopoiesis.
5. Dedifferentiation: The process by which differentiated cells change to less-differentiated cells. As implied by the term, it is the reverse of differentiation.
6. Example: Stem cell researchers leverage the process of dedifferentiation to generate less specialized cells that can then be used as therapy for people with blood cancers that leave them with too few white blood cells. In this instance, the more specialized blood cell is dedifferentiated to a hematopoietic stem cell, which can then be probed to become a white blood cell, thereby increasing the number of white blood cells circulating in the cancer patient.