Human embryonic stem cells lines can be derived from human blastocysts at high
efficiency (>50%) by immunosurgical isolation of the inner cell mass
and culture on embryonic fibroblast cell lines. These cells will spontaneously
differentiate into all the primary embryonic lineages
in vitro and in vivo, but they are
unable to form an integrated embryo or body plan by themselves or when
combined with trophectoderm cells. They may be directed into a number of
specific cell types and this enrichment process requires specific growth
factors, cell-surface molecules, matrix molecules and secreted products of
other cell types. Embryonic stem (ES) cells are immortal and represent a major
potential for cell therapies for regenerative medicine. Their use in
transplantation may depend on the formation of a large bank of suitable human
leucocyte antigen (HLA) types or the genetic erasure of their HLA expression.
Successful transplantation may also require induction of tolerance in
recipients and ongoing immune suppression. Although it is possible to
customize ES cells by therapeutic cloning or cytoplasmic transfer, it would
appear unlikely that these strategies will be used extensively for producing
ES cells compatible for transplantation. Embryonic stem cell research may
deliver a new pathway for regenerative medicine.
Reviving Cell-Based Regenerative Medicine for Heart Reconstitution with Efficiency in Deriving Cardiac Elements from Pluripotent Human Embryonic Stem Cells
