Current Concepts of Stem Cell Therapy.

Hwang, Jung Hye

Review

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2005;48(1):14-20.
Published online January 1, 2005.

Current Concepts of Stem Cell Therapy.

Jung Hye Hwang

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea. hwangjh@hanyang.ac.kr

Abstract

Stem cells are defined by their capacity for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation, making them uniquely situated to treat a broad spectrum of human diseases. The transplantation of tissue-specific stem cells, such as stem cells isolated from epithelial and neural tissues, can treat mouse disease models and human patients in which epithelial and neural cells are damaged. An alternative to tissue-specific stem cell therapy takes advantage of embryonic stem cells, which are capable of differentiating into any tissue type. Furthermore, nuclear transfer, the transfer of a post-mitotic somatic cell nucleus into an enucleated oocyte, creates a limitless source of autologous cells that, when combined with gene therapy, can serve as a powerful therapeutic tool.

Key Words: Human embryonic stem cells, Adult stem cells, Stem cells therapy