Cell transplantation: toward cell therapy.

Cell therapy has evolved from the early stages of using but the ability of these cells to participate in the formation of other tissues has yet to be further investigated. embryonic cells to advanced applications of attempting to repair and restore human organs. Numerous disease As noted above, the ultimate goal of stem cell research is to translate these cells into clinically relevant models have been thoroughly investigated in all aspects of basic, preclinical, and clinical research and have been therapies. Today, donated organs and tissues are often used to replace those that are diseased or destroyed. Unpublished in Cell Transplantation, The Regenerative Transplantation Journal. In recent years researchers are fortunately, the number of people needing a transplant far exceeds the number of organs available for transtrying to overcome the poor cell viability and functional outcome following collection, storage, and transplantaplantation. Pluripotent stem cells offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to tion of embryonic cells by exploring novel techniques on expansion of stem cells or progenitor cells and by treat conditions and disabilities that are candidates for clinical applications: cardiac insufficiency and vascular tissue engineering to recreate whole organs. Recent studies have shown that stem cells can be diseases, cartilage and bone repair, ligaments and tendons, liver diseases, ophthalmology, diabetes, and neuisolated from a wide variety of tissues. Stem cells show great potential for many different areas of health and rological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and stroke. medical research, and studying them can help us understand how they transform into the astounding array of Tissue engineering is a field that brings together the principles of the biological systems and medicine with specialized cells. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are caused by those of engineering. The increased research interest in tissue engineering over the past decade has resulted problems that occur during the stem cell maturation process. A better understanding of normal cell development from a variety of factors: the advent of new biomaterials as potential mediators for tissue growth, improvements will allow us not only to recognize the “normality” of cell growth, but perhaps correct the errors that cause in bioreactor design, and new scientific progress about mechanisms underlying the healing processes. Possibly these medical conditions. Embryonic stem cells are potentially more interesting the greatest contribution has come from our increased knowledge and understanding of stem cell biology, because they are totipotent, but they can only be obtained at the very early stages of the embryo. The potential which is paving the way for the generation of unlimited cells of specific phenotypes for incorporation into engiof adult-derived stem cells is limited but isolating them induces no ethical problem and it has been known for neered tissue construction. Thus, tissue engineering techniques for expanding and engrafting the differentiated more than 40 years that bone marrow does possess the regenerating functions of blood cells. Moreover, accuprogeny of embryonic, fetal, or adult stem cells has major potential for tissue repair and is anticipated to continmulating evidence suggests that adult tissues may be a source of embryonic-like stem cells. Finally, the properually make major contributions to medicine in the 21st century. ties of fetal stem cells (blood cells from the umbilical cord) are building blocks of the hematopoietic system When the journal was first published in 1991 the ma-