Chonnam Med J.
2007 Apr;43(1):1-12.
Therapeutic Applications of Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Veterinary Physiology, Biotherapy Human Resources Center (BK21), College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea. hjhan@chonnam.ac.kr
Abstract
- We are at the remarkable stage in research with both embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. However, there are limits on the potentials of the stem cells and their clinical applications and it still remains to understand several basic characteristics of stem cells as follows. 1) the basic biological properties of stem cells have to be thoroughly characterized in terms of proliferation and differentiation potential, 2) standard for safety should be established by monitoring cell properties to avoid transformation or loss of viability and developmental potential, and 3) the molecular pathways underlying the generation of specific phenotypes have to be elucidated to produce desired cell types. Therefore, therapeutic applications of stem cells will not yield miraculous results in the near future. In addition, upcoming controlled clinical trials must be pursued in continuous cross talks with basic experimentation to improve cell therapy and to develop targeted protocols for each disease.