Haematopoietic stem cells located in the bone marrow are multipotent stem cells capable of differentiating into a limited range of specialised blood cells, such as erythrocytes and neutrophils.

During the differentiation of an erythrocyte, the progenitor cell actively synthesises haemoglobin before ejecting its nucleus and organelles to maximise its oxygen-carrying capacity.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are generated by inserting the diploid nucleus of a differentiated adult cell into an enucleated egg cell, triggering embryonic development.

Unipotent stem cells, such as epidermal basal stem cells, can only differentiate into a single cell type but are distinguished from fully differentiated cells by their ability to self-renew.