Stem Cells: Current Research

Modern studies point out that it is possible to use transplantation therapy for diabetics by directing the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells in cell culture to form insulin-producing cells that eventually could be transplanted to control diabetes

 
In order to realize the assurance of novel cell-based therapies for such persistent and unbearable diseases, scientists are into unraveling novel ways to easily manipulate stem cells, even reproducibly manipulated.  Thereby they may be incorporated to possess the necessary characteristics for successful differentiation, transplantation and engraftment.

For every successful cell-based treatment, scientists are using today exclusively to control diseases; they have to worry about the following steps. More precisely, in order to be useful for transplant purposes, stem cells must be reproducibly made to:
   

•      Proliferate extensively and generate sufficient quantities of tissue.
•      Distinguish into the desired cell type(s).
•      Survive in the recipient after transplant.
•      Integrate into the surrounding tissue after transplant.
•      Function appropriately for the duration of the recipient's life.
•      Avoid harming the recipient in any way.

While there are many diseases that are considered for treatment based on stem cell based therapies, one among them is reaching some frontiers i.e. Parkinson's disease (PD) in a recent study, scientists have directed mouse embryonic stem cells to differentiate into dopamine (DA) neurons by introducing the gene Nurr1. When transplanted into the brains of a rat model of PD, these stem cell-derived DA neurons reinnervated the brains of the rat Parkinson model, released dopamine and improved motor function. However regarding the human stem cell therapy, scientists have also developed a number of strategies in the laboratory for producing dopamine neurons from human stem cells for transplantation into humans with Parkinson's disease. Thus successfully generated supply of unlimited dopamine neurons could make neurotransplantation widely available for Parkinson's patients.