Postnatal blood (peripheral blood and bone marrow) |
Peripheral blood is among the easiest tissues to obtain.
Allow repeated cell harvesting.
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Limited by the availability of patients. |
Yes. Patient blood cells are essential for modeling acquired/chronic blood disorders. |
Yes. The most accessible sources for patient-specific iPSCs. |
Umbilical cord blood |
Unlikely to contain acquired mutations.
Epigenetic features close to embryonic stem cells.
Banked and readily available.
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Relatively limited cell number per stored sample. |
Yes. Can be used for modeling inherited diseases. |
Yes. May provide a safer source for cell replacement therapy. |
EBV-immortalized lymphocytes |
Cells from patients of rare diseases and those from the family pedigree are available.
Genetic backgrounds of many samples have been studied.
A large quantity of cells is available.
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Prolonged culture may increase the probability of accumulating additional mutations and/or karyotypic abnormalities. |
Yes. Valuable for disease modeling, especially for rare diseases. Samples of deceased patients and their family members are often available. |
May not be suitable due to a potentially compromised genomic integrity. |