Cell potency#Pluripotency

As pluripotent ( from Latin plus "more" and the Latin potentia ' assets, force " ) is called stem cells, which have the ability to develop into cells of the three germ layers (ectoderm, endoderm, mesoderm ) and the germ line of an organism. You can differentiate to any cell type of an organism, as they are still set to any particular tissue type. However, they are, in contrast to the totipotent stem cells are no longer capable to form a whole body, as pluripotent cells can not form extra-embryonic tissues.

Sometimes the terms are totipotent and pluripotent not clearly delineated. From the word in origin totipotent but "powerful to everything " means, in contrast to pluripotent, which means " to many powerful."

Recently pluripotent (or at least multipotent ) stem cells from a variety of human tissues to be isolated increases. Stem cell research promises ways to fight many diseases, but is also controversial from an ethical point of view. In a more recent approach somatic cells are restored by transfection into a state of pluripotency. For more information on stem cell research can be read in the articles on stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.