Cell potency

Cell potency is a cell's ability to differentiate into other cell types. The more cell types a cell can differentiate into, the greater its potency. Potency is also described as the gene activation potential within a cell, which like a continuum, begins with totipotency to designate a cell with the most differentiation potential, pluripotency, multipotency, oligopotency, and finally unipotency.

Etymology

The term "potency" comes from the Latin "potentia", meaning power.

Types of Potency

There are several types of cell potency, including:

• Totipotency
• Pluripotency
• Multipotency
• Oligopotency
• Unipotency

Pluripotency

Pluripotent cells can give rise to all of the cell types that make up the body; embryonic stem cells are considered pluripotent. Pluripotency refers to a stem cell that has the potential to differentiate into any of the three germ layers: endoderm (interior stomach lining, gastrointestinal tract, the lungs), mesoderm (muscle, bone, blood, urogenital), or ectoderm (epidermal tissues and nervous system).

Related Terms

• Stem cell
• Cell differentiation
• Zygote
• Embryonic stem cell
• Germ layers

See Also

• Developmental biology
• Regenerative medicine
• Stem cell therapy

References

• 
  Diagram of stem cells
• 
  Human embryonic stem cells
• 
  Naive human pluripotent stem cells
• 
  Example of Totipotency in Ranunculus asiaticus
• 
  Diagram of human hematopoiesis