The Potential of Stem Cell Therapy

摘要

Given their expected capacity to self-renew and differentiate efficiently into the desired cell type, clonal populations of stem cells (SC) promise to produce beneficial effects in a number of diseases [1]. Several studies already indicate the therapeutic potential of SC transplantation in ischemic lesions, with sources of SC that include embryonic (ESC), foetal and adult SC, and embryonal carcinoma (EC) cell lines [2]. These studies confirm the potential of the lesioned adult brain to host immature cell species, already demonstrated in the 80s, and that led to clinical trials for Parkinson's and Huntington's [3] diseases. However, much crucial information is still lacking before SC transplantation becomes a clinical reality for ischemic brain lesions. For instance, the standardization of the conditions to regulate SC proliferation and differentiation to produce region-specific grafts need to be better defined; changes in their properties induced by transplantation into lesioned brain structures are poorly understood, as is the full extent of functional improvement at long-term post-stroke delays. These are important steps to define the actual potential and limitation of the approach and to standardize the grafting procedures for routine clinical applications.