Cell Potency: Totipotent Vs Pluripotent Vs Multipotent Stem

Explore the differences between totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent stem cells. Learn how each impacts health and treatment options at GetWellGo.

Cell Potency: Totipotent Vs Pluripotent Vs Multipotent Stem

Totipotent Stem Cells

Totipotency refers to the ability of stem cells to differentiate into any type of cell within the body plus the extra-embryonic structures such as the placenta. Here's a quick overview:

Key Features:

  • Origin: Formed shortly after fertilization (e.g., the zygote and the first few divisions up to the 8-cell stage).
  • Potency: Totipotent = Total potential. They are capable of giving rise to all other specialized cells:
  • Embryonic cells (e.g., muscle, nerve, skin)
  • Extra-embryonic cells (e.g., placenta, umbilical cord)

Pluripotent Stem Cells

Pluripotent stem cells are multispecialized stem cells which can develop into almost any type of cell that exists in the human body. These stem cells are derived from all three germ layers which include ectoderm that produces body coverings, neurons, muscle, bone, blood, and endoderm, which is an epithelial lining of digestive and respiratory systems.

Pluripotent stem cells may be classified into three broad categories:

  • Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs): They are obtained from the embryos; probably at a stage when the embryo is at the blastocyst stage, that is, it is about five days old. These stem cells are true because they are able to differentiate into any other specialized cells within the body.
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: These are any adult cell type, usually collected as skin or blood tissue cells that have been coaxed to revert to their fore larval stage by having certain working genes added back into them. This was done in an attempt to derive stem cells from the adult cells without the use of embryos and this invention has applications in fields such as personalized medicine as well as modelling of diseases.

Multipotent Stem Cells

The multipotent stem cells are the stem cells that are capable of differentiating into a few given types of cells found within organs or tissues. Multipotent stem cells which are special stem cells that have the capacity to turn into a certain number of specialized cells that originates from a particular tissue or an organ. 

For instance, hematopoietic stem cells or HSCs are stem cells that can differentiate into all the major types of blood cells including the red blood cells, white blood cells and the platelets. Similarly, to other stem cells, MSCs can only differentiate into a limited number of cell types, namely the connective tissue cells such as bone, cartilage, and adipose cells.
It is significant to note that multipotent stem cells are involved in replacing and repairing tissue most of the times within an individual’s lifetime. They are present in bone marrow, adipose tissue, and umbilical cord blood.

Totipotent vs Pluripotent

Totipotent Stem Cells

Differentiation Potential: Totipotent stem cells are cells with the highest potency and are able to form cells in the embryo and fetus, extra embryonic tissues, the placenta, and umbilical cord, among others. They are thus exactly what could be described as “total potential” cells.

Source: These are normally detected only from the start of development up to when it is at the zygote and up to the 8 cell division after fertilization.

Examples:

  • Zygote (the fertilized egg)
  • First few blastomeres (cells developed consequent on the zygote cells)

Pluripotent Stem Cells

Differentiation Potential: Embryonic stem cells are not limited to the differentiation into the three primary germ layers such as ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm, but also the derived tissues and structures; it means that they are able to generate any authorised cell type in the body but have no capability of developing extra-embryonic tissues and structures such as the placenta.

Source: The direct stem cells can be gotten from the blastocyst, which is an early stage in the development of the embryos and the induced stem cells which are artificially developed from the somatic cells of adults.

Examples:

  • Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs)
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)

Pluripotent vs Multipotent

Pluripotent Stem Cells

Differentiation Potential: It has differentiation capability because it has the potential to form cells of all the three germ layers of the body namely the ectoderm, mesoderm as well as the endoderm. This makes them more potent for differentiation when compared to the multipotent stem cells.

Source: These stem cells are mostly the embryonic stem cells which are harvested from the early embryos as well as the iPSCs which are got by converting other adult cells.

Examples: ESCs and iPSCs.

Multipotent Stem Cells

Differentiation Potential: More specifically, multipotent stem cells have the ability to transform into a small set of cell categories, typically in the related lineage or tissue. For example, there are hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) which are multipotent stem cells that can only differentiate into various types of blood cells; red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets among them.

Source: They are located in strategic sites that include Bone Marrow, Adipose Tissue, and Umbilical Cord Blood.

Examples: Some of them include the hematopoietic stem cells (found in the blood), mesenchymal stem cells (obtained from bone marrow, cartilages and fat), and neural stem cells (from the neurons and glial cells).

Totipotent vs Multipotent

Totipotent Stem Cells

Differentiation Potential: Totipotent stem cells are cells with the highest potency and are able to form cells in the embryo and fetus, extra embryonic tissues, the placenta, and umbilical cord, among others. They are thus exactly what could be described as “total potential” cells.

Source: These are normally detected only from the start of development up to when it is at the zygote and up to the 8 cell division after fertilization.

Examples:

  • Zygote (the fertilized egg)
  • First few blastomeres (cells developed consequent on the zygote cells)

Multipotent Stem Cells

Differentiation Potential: More specifically, multipotent stem cells have the ability to transform into a small set of cell categories, typically in the related lineage or tissue. For example, there are hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) which are multipotent stem cells that can only differentiate into various types of blood cells; red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets among them.

Source: They are located in strategic sites that include Bone Marrow, Adipose Tissue, and Umbilical Cord Blood.

Examples: 

  • Hematopoietic stem cells (found in the blood)
  • Mesenchymal stem cells (obtained from bone marrow, cartilages and fat)
  • Neural stem cells (from the neurons and glial cells).

Types of Stem Cells

Totipotent Stem Cells

  • Definition: Proliferation can occur to become any type of cell – embryonic or extra- embryonic tissue (such as placenta).
  • Potency: Highest
  • Source: Zygote and cells up to the 8-cell stage after fertilization
  • Examples: Zygote, early blastomeres

Pluripotent Stem Cells

  • Definition: Has the ability to differentiate into all the types of cells in the body but can only give rise to the cells originating from three primary germ layers namely ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm but not extra-orbital structures.
  • Potency: Very high
  • Origin: Inner cell mass of blastocyst, or from adult cells conversion

Examples:

  • Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs)
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)

Multipotent Stem Cells

  • Definition: Can divide into several, but not many, varieties of cells of a certain kind or a certain type of tissue.
  • Potency: Moderate
  • Source: Found in adult tissues, fetal tissues, and umbilical cord blood

Examples:

  • Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) – blood cells
  • MSCs are called by several names including bone marrow stem cells, stromal stem cells, Mesodermal stem cells, and adult stem cells. 
  • Neural Stem Cells – neurons and glial cells

Oligopotent Stem Cells

  • Definition: Stem cells have the ability to only produce a few specific neighbouring cell types.
  • Potency: Low
  • Source: Adult tissues

Examples:

  • Lymphoid stem cells, from which it differentiates B cells and T cells
  • Myeloid stem cells – develop some of the blood cells

Unipotent Stem Cells

  • Definition: Can differentiate into only one cell type how some of these stem cells can divide and recreate themselves.
  • Potency: Very limited
  • Source: Adult tissues

Examples:

  • Muscle stem cells
  • Skin stem cells

Stem Cell Potency

The term stem cell potency relates to the capability of a stem cell to transform to the other kind of cells. This simply means the versatility of the stem cell: the more diverse the differentiation capacity, the higher the potency.

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