Stem Cells, Gene Expression & Cancer - exam practice

What is the potency of adult bone marrow stem cells?

Some stem cells divide and give rise to phagocytes.

Where in the human body do these stem cells divide?

1 - blood

2 - bone marrow

3 - lymph nodes

Which feature of stem cells enables them to replace cells in tissues such as the skin?

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are stem cells found in human wisdom teeth.

MSCs can differentiate into three cell types: chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and adipocytes.

To which category of stem cells do MSCs belong?

Embryonic stem cells can be used in cell replacement therapies.

Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any type of body cell but cannot form a whole organism.

What is the type of stem cell being described?

Which statement is not true about adult stem cells?

Which statement correctly explains why meristems can differentiate into xylem vessels in plant stems?

Several cell types develop from haematopoetic stem cells in the bone narrow.

Which statement correctly describes haematopoetic stem cells?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints.

What explains why stem cells are a potential source of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis?

Laboratory mice whose p53 genes had been switched off developed tumours.

When their p53 genes were switched on again, the tumour cells stopped dividing and died within a few days. Healthy cells in the mice were unaffected.

What do these observations suggest?

What can directly cause the production of abnormally high quantities of the growth factors that activate DNA replication genes?

The statements below relate to the epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

Which statement(s) is/are correct?

1 - methylation of DNA prevents gene transcription

2 - the most common base to undergo methylation is guanine

3 - acetylation of histone proteins causes DNA to become less accessible to transcription factors