For this laboratory session you will view this 58-minute video of Dr. Melton of Harvard. In this video you will be introduced to his work on stem cells and its implication for the treatment of pancreatic disorders, specifically Type I diabetes. This video has remarkable clips that take you through the stages of development, the source of stem cells, and potential gene therapies. You will see some of the experiments that show the underpinnings of our knowledge of how the pancreas maintains its cells. Experiments with mice show you why bone marrow transplants can be successful.
Answer the following questions:
Experiment 1: Hematopoietic stem cell experiment (39 min, 32 sec; #30)

1. In this part of the video, Dr. Melton describes an experiment with a mouse that has been irradiated to destroy its blood cells. For one part of the experiment, the irradiated mouse was given whole blood.

a. Generate a hypothesis for this experiment.

b. Generate a prediction for this experiment.

2. In another experiment, an irradiated mouse was given a single hematopoietic stem cell.

a. Generate a hypothesis for this experiment

b. Generate a prediction for this experiment.

c. Discuss why there is a difference in the outcomes of the two experiments.

Experiment 2: Genetic Pulse-Chase experiment (41 min, 47 sec; #32)

3. Dr. Melton discussed how this experiment led to conclusions about the replacement of pancreatic cells.

a. What is the reason for labeling the cells in this experiment?

b. Why do we know that these cells are fully differentiated?

4. Had this experiment showed that the maintenance of the pancreas was due to stem cells, what would the cells look like

a. in the Pulse slides at time 0

b. in the Chase slides at the end of the experimental period

5. In Type I diabetes, when the beta cells are destroyed by the immune system discuss what would be the likely outcome if we added stem cells to this individuals pancreas.
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Added on 10.03.2016 15:44
Here is the link to the video.
http://media.hhmi.org/hl/06Lect1.html