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Stem cells are unspecialized cells capable of self-renewal that can differentiate into other types of cells. They exist both in embryos and adult tissue, and their developmental potential to renew and give rise to other cells, also known as stemness, decreases as they become more specialized. For example, a unipotent stem cell cannot differentiate into as many cell types as a multipotent stem cell, and a multipotent stem cell has a narrower differentiation spectrum than a pluripotent stem cell. Regardless of potency, stem cells cannot survive outside of their environment without specific factors and cytokines, which dictate their stemness and behavior.1,2
Totipotent stem cells have the highest differentiation potential.1 Unlike pluripotent or multipotent stem cells, totipotent stem cells can divide and differentiate into every cell that makes a whole organism, including both embryonic and extraembryonic structures. An example ...
