scholarly journals Stem cell research: immortality or a healthy old age?

2004 ◽  
pp. U7-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Mummery
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell Research ◽  
Adult Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
The Media

Stem cell research holds the promise of treatments for many disorders resulting from disease or trauma where one or at most a few cell types have been lost or do not function. In combination with tissue engineering, stem cells may represent the greatest contribution to contemporary medicine of the present century. Progress is however being hampered by the debate on the origin of stem cells, which can be derived from human embryos and some adult tissues. Politics, religious beliefs and the media have determined society's current perception of their relative value while the ethical antipathy towards embryonic stem cells, which require destruction of a human embryo for their derivation, has in many countries biased research towards adult stem cells. Many scientists believe this bias may be premature and basic research on both cell types is still required. The media has created confusion about the purpose of stem cell research: treating chronic ailments or striving for immortality. Here, the scientific state of the art on adult and embryonic stem cells is reviewed as a basis for a debate on whether research on embryonic stem cells is ethically acceptable.

Types of Stem Cells Used in US-Based Clinical Trials between 1999 and 2014

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 169-191
Author(s):  
Emma E. Redfield ◽  
Erin K. Luciano ◽  
Monica J. Sewell ◽  
Lucas A. Mitzel ◽  
Isaac J. Sanford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Adult Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
The Us ◽  
Health Database ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

This study looks at the number of clinical trials involving specific stem cell types. To our knowledge, this has never been done before. Stem cell clinical trials that were conducted at locations in the US and registered on the National Institutes of Health database at ‘clinicaltrials.gov’ were categorized according to the type of stem cell used (adult, cancer, embryonic, perinatal, or induced pluripotent) and the year that the trial was registered. From 1999 to 2014, there were 2,357 US stem cell clinical trials registered on ‘clinicaltrials.gov,’ and 89 percent were from adult stem cells and only 0.12 percent were from embryonic stem cells. This study concludes that embryonic stem cells should no longer be used for clinical study because of their irrelevance, moral questions, and induced pluripotent stem cells.

scholarly journals Ethics in stem cell research

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Md Fakruddin
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cell ◽  
Stem Cell Research ◽  
Human Embryonic Stem Cell ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cell Research ◽  
Human Embryos

Stem cells have constituted a revolution in regenerative medicine and cancer therapies by providing the possibility of generating multiple therapeutically useful cell types that could be used for treating some of genetic and degenerative disorders. However, human embryonic stem cell research raises few ethical and political controversies because of its involvement in destruction of human embryos. The ethical issues in human embryonic stem cell research encompasses not only with question of the ethics of destroying human embryos, but also with questions about complicity of researchers in destruction of embryos, moral distinction between creating embryos for research purposes and creating them for reproductive ends and the permissibility of cloning human embryos to harvest stem cells. Bangladesh should formulate its own regulations justifying its stand regarding this matter. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bioethics.v3i1.10867 Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2012; 3(1):13-18

scholarly journals Stem Cells Research: Therapeutic Potentials and Ethical Issues from Islamic Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Che Anuar Che Mohamad ◽  
Abdurezak Abdullahi Hashi
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Human Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Cord Injury

The advancement in human stem cell research has promised a viable alternative treatment for a range of ‘incurable diseases’ such as neurological diseases. To date, several studies have documented substantial evidences on the therapeutic properties of stem cells in promoting repair in different diseases including common neurological disorders i.e. ischaemic stroke and spinal cord injury. However, the progress of stem cell research has been surrounded by ethical issues which largely due to the usage of human embryos as one of the sources. These embryonic stem cells which originally derived from human embryo of aborted foetus or already existing human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) lines, has sparked an intense moral and religious argument among people of various faith, including Muslim community. From the therapeutic point of view, amongst the currently available stem cells, hESCs show the greatest potential for the broadest range of cell replacement therapies and are regarded as the most commercially viable. This review focuses on the major ethical issues, particularly to Muslim community, related to human embryonic stem cells research with special emphasis on the moral status of the embryo and the beginning of life according to the Islamic ethics and rulings. In this paper, we also discuss some ethical positions towards embryonic stem cell research in the Islamic world, including official regulations existing in some Muslim countries. We examine the justification and the necessity on the usage of hESCs following the newly discovered Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPSCs) in the laboratory. In addition, we supplement the discussions with the general views and positions from the other two Abrahamic religions i.e. Christianity and Judaism.

scholarly journals Embryoid research calls for reassessment of legal regulations

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Hengstschläger ◽  
Margit Rosner
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Human Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Legal Regulations ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractIt is known that in countries, in which basic research on human embryos is in fact prohibited by law, working with imported human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can still be permitted. As long as hESCs are not capable of development into a complete human being, it might be the case that they do not fulfill all criteria of the local definition of an embryo. Recent research demonstrates that hESCs can be developed into entities, called embryoids, which increasingly could come closer to actual human embryos in future. By discussing the Austrian situation, we want to highlight that current embryoid research could affect the prevailing opinion on the legal status of work with hESCs and therefore calls for reassessment of the regulations in all countries with comparable definitions of the embryo.

scholarly journals Strategy to Establish Embryo-Derived Pluripotent Stem Cells in Cattle

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 5011
Author(s):  
Daehwan Kim ◽  
Sangho Roh
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell Research ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Human Diseases ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

Stem cell research is essential not only for the research and treatment of human diseases, but also for the genetic preservation and improvement of animals. Since embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were established in mice, substantial efforts have been made to establish true ESCs in many species. Although various culture conditions were used to establish ESCs in cattle, the capturing of true bovine ESCs (bESCs) has not been achieved. In this review, the difficulty of establishing bESCs with various culture conditions is described, and the characteristics of proprietary induced pluripotent stem cells and extended pluripotent stem cells are introduced. We conclude with a suggestion of a strategy for establishing true bESCs.

scholarly journals Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) in Vascular Research: from Two- to Three-Dimensional Organoids

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Trillhaase ◽  
Marlon Maertens ◽  
Zouhair Aherrahrou ◽  
Jeanette Erdmann
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell Research ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

AbstractStem cell technology has been around for almost 30 years and in that time has grown into an enormous field. The stem cell technique progressed from the first successful isolation of mammalian embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the 1990s, to the production of human induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in the early 2000s, to finally culminate in the differentiation of pluripotent cells into highly specialized cell types, such as neurons, endothelial cells (ECs), cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, and lung and intestinal cells, in the last decades. In recent times, we have attained a new height in stem cell research whereby we can produce 3D organoids derived from stem cells that more accurately mimic the in vivo environment. This review summarizes the development of stem cell research in the context of vascular research ranging from differentiation techniques of ECs and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) to the generation of vascularized 3D organoids. Furthermore, the different techniques are critically reviewed, and future applications of current 3D models are reported. Graphical abstract

64 RECONSTRUCTION OF HETEROGENEOUS EMBRYOS BY HUMAN SOMATIC CELLS AND BOVINE ENUCLEATED OOCYTES AND ISOLATION OF PUTATIVE HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL CLONES

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
D. Zhang ◽  
H. M. Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Skin Fibroblast ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Fibroblast Cells ◽  
Normal Numbers ◽  
Blastocyst Development ◽  
Cell Clones

This study was undertaken to reconstruct heterogeneous nuclear-transferred embryos by using human fetal skin fibroblast cells as nuclear donor cells and the enucleated bovine oocytes as recipient cytoplasts for the purpose of investigating the feasibility of enucleated bovine oocyte cytoplasm as a means of reprogramming human somatic cell nuclei in an attempt to generate an accessible, autologous, and potentially unlimited source of totipotent human embryonic stem cells for transplantation medicine. Bovine ovaries were recovered at a local abattoir and oocytes were in vitro-matured and employed as recipient cytoplasts. A human fibroblast cell line was derived from an aborted fetus at 4 months of age, serum-starved, and used as donor somatic cells. The cultured nuclear transfer embryos were visually assessed for the first completion of cleavage at 48 h of culture, and for subsequent developmental stages at 72 to 168 h. The fusion of fibroblast cells into recipient cytoplasm was induced by electroporation. The fused oocytes were activated by ionomycin with 2 m mL–1 6-DMAP. The activated reconstructed embryos were co-cultured with bovine cumulus cells in synthetic oviduct fluid supplemented with amino acid (SOFaa) and 10% (v/v) fetal calf serum (FCS) for 168 h. Morulae and blastocysts were used for isolating embryonic stem cells. The results indicated that human fetal skin fibroblast cells could maintain normal morphology and characteristics in culture conditions. They proliferated constantly and presented a regular growth curve in culture. Of these cells, 83.3% retained normal numbers of chromosomes after over 20 culture passages. The skin fibroblast cells exhibited normal morphology and retained normal numbers of chromosomes (2n = 64) in serum starvation culture after undergoing freezing and thawing treatment. The first completed cleavage of xenonuclear transplantation human embryos occurred between 24 and 48 h after activation, and morula and blastocyst development was completed between 72 and 168 h. The cleavage rate and the percentage of blastocyst development of the reconstructed embryos were 80.0% and 7.5%, respectively. Putative embryonic stem cell clones were observed, with nest-like morphology, after 3–7 days of culture on a fibroblast cell layer. Identifications by alkaline phosphatase (AKP) showed that the clones presented a positive reaction, which demonstrated that the isolated stem cell clones were embryonic stem cells. This study demonstrated that xenonuclear-transferred human embryos can undergo embryonic division and subsequent development to morula and blastocyst stage, and that human fetal fibroblast nuclei can be reprogrammed in bovine enucleated oocytes. Xenonuclear-transferred human embryos can be an alternative for obtaining human embryonic stem cells.

scholarly journals The action behind the words: embryonic stem cell research marches on

2006 ◽  
Vol 174 (6) ◽  
pp. 743-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitch Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cell ◽  
Stem Cell Research ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cell Research ◽  
Medical Resource ◽  
Stem Cell Science

Talk of policy has dominated talk of science for those interested in embryonic stem cell science. But research is continuing, and the advances are making clear why embryonic stem cells are such an important scientific and medical resource.

scholarly journals Controlling Embryonic Stem Cell Growth and Differentiation by Automation

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 1171-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Kowalski ◽  
Amy Yoder ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Laura Pajak
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cell ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Embryoid Body ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Complex Biological Process

Despite significant use in basic research, embryonic stem cells have just begun to be used in the drug discovery process. Barriers to the adoption of embryonic stem cells in drug discovery include the difficulty in growing cells and inconsistent differentiation to the desired cellular phenotype. Embryonic stem cell cultures require consistent and frequent handling to maintain the cells in a pluripotent state. In addition, the preferred hanging drop method of embryoid body (EB) differentiation is not amenable to high-throughput methods, and suspension cultures of EBs show a high degree of variability. Murine embryonic stem cells passaged on an automated platform maintained ≥90% viability and pluripotency. We also developed a method of EB formation using 384-well microplates that form a single EB per well, with excellent uniformity across EBs. This format facilitated high-throughput differentiation and enabled screens to optimize directed differentiation into a desired cell type. Using this approach, we identified conditions that enhanced cardiomyocyte differentiation sevenfold. This optimized differentiation method showed excellent consistency for such a complex biological process. This automated approach to embryonic stem cell handling and differentiation can provide the high and consistent yields of differentiated cell types required for basic research, compound screens, and toxicity studies.

scholarly journals The E3 Ligase Axotrophin/MARCH-7: Protein Expression Profiling of Human Tissues Reveals Links to Adult Stem Cells

2009 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina A. Szigyarto ◽  
Paul Sibbons ◽  
Gill Williams ◽  
Mathias Uhlen ◽  
Su M. Metcalfe
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Protein Expression ◽  
Adult Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Null Mouse ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Neuronal Progenitor

Axotrophin/MARCH-7 was first identified in mouse embryonic stem cells as a neural stem cell gene. Using the axotrophin/MARCH-7 null mouse, we discovered profound effects on T lymphocyte responses, including 8-fold hyperproliferation and 5-fold excess release of the stem cell cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Our further discovery that axotrophin/MARCH-7 is required for targeted degradation of the LIF receptor subunit gp190 implies a direct role in the regulation of LIF signaling. Bioinformatics studies revealed a highly conserved RING-CH domain in common with the MARCH family of E3-ubiquitin ligases, and accordingly, axotrophin was renamed “MARCH-7.” To probe protein expression of human axotrophin/MARCH-7, we prepared antibodies against different domains of the protein. Each antibody bound its specific target epitope with high affinity, and immunohistochemistry cross-validated target specificity. Forty-eight human tissue types were screened. Epithelial cells stained strongly, with trophoblasts having the greatest staining. In certain tissues, specific cell types were selectively positive, including neurons and neuronal progenitor cells in the hippocampus and cerebellum, endothelial sinusoids of the spleen, megakaryocytes in the bone marrow, crypt stem cells of the small intestine, and alveolar macrophages in the lung. Approximately 20% of central nervous system neuropils were positive. Notably, axotrophin/MARCH-7 has an expression profile that is distinct from that of other MARCH family members. This manuscript contains online supplemental material at http://www.jhc.org . Please visit this article online to view these materials.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document