Stem cells hold promise for new medical treatments. Learn about stem cell types, current and potential uses, and the state of research and practice. There are several different types of stem cells, each with their own unique properties and applications in medical research and practice. Different types of stem cells have unique capabilities that hold great promise for understanding and treating various diseases. For example, stem cell transplants to replace bone marrow stem cells can use donated adult stem cells.
The benefits of MSCs in clinical research are primarily related, not to their potential for multilineage differentiation, but rather to their secretome, which establishes a nutritious microenvironment and promotes autocrine and paracrine signaling that inhibits apoptosis and dictates angiogenesis, local tissue mitosis, and cross-communication with resident stem cells (66, 271—27). On the other hand, adult stem cells differentiate to produce the specialized cell types of the tissue or organ in which they reside, and may have morphological characteristics and defining patterns of gene expression that reflect that tissue. Stem cell treatments may also involve the recruitment of stem cells into the patient's own tissues for self-repair. Tissue-specific stem cells or adult stem cells, such as those found in the skin and cornea, also play a role in tissue transplants and may contribute to long-term regeneration.
Transfusion of human mesenchymal stem cells is safe and improves liver function in patients with acute or chronic liver failure. Tissue sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) contribute greatly to their therapeutic potential, since all types of mesenchymal stem cells share safety profiles and overlapping efficacy.
Stem cell therapy
, also known as regenerative medicine, promotes the repair response of diseased, dysfunctional, or injured tissue using stem cells or their derivatives. Stem cell therapies can also benefit people who have aplastic anemia, immunodeficiencies and inherited metabolic conditions.Many stem cell treatments, such as pharmaceuticals tested in clinical trials, are not approved and do not reach patients because of problems or deficiencies detected during clinical trials. Autologous bone marrow derived cell therapy combined with physical therapy induces functional improvement in patients with chronic spinal cord injuries. One of the first trials using MSCs for the treatment of chronic heart failure was the C-CURE trial (cardiopoietic stem cell therapy in heart failure), a multicenter, randomized clinical trial involving 47 patients. Stem cells are being studied to treat type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, heart failure, osteoarthritis and other conditions. Today, healthcare providers use stem cell treatments to control and sometimes cure blood cancers and blood disorders.
Isolation of a pluripotent cell line from early mouse embryos cultured in medium conditioned with teratocarcinoma stem cells.
