Personalized medicine in cell therapy and transplantation

Abstract

Developments in cell therapy and organ transplantation would transform personalized medicine as perceived today. Adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derivatives can be used to repair, rejuvenate, or replace damaged organs. Transplanted cells act by secreted factors, cell- cell interaction, and immune modulation or by repopulating the damaged tissue. Repopulating organs with genetically corrected progenitor cells or differentiated cells could correct several rare genetic diseases at a very personal level. Cell therapy has applications in curing infections as well from life-threatening fungal infections to HIV. Today tools such as zinc finger nucleases and TALENS make it possible to manipulate human genome precisely. In the future transplantable personalized whole organs will be generated using iPSC and tetraploid complementation, and techniques which are still in infancy. Cells and organs will be engineered and standardized to be compatible with a wide range of drugs and environmental conditions or become more personalized for special needs. Three dimensional printing technologies can now generate simple organs like urinary bladder in a personalized way, but in the future, it might be possible to “print” more complex organs. Genetically engineered cells would play a major role in the future of fighting cancer in a personalized manner. Stem cell biology, genetic engineering, and regenerative medicine catapulted by latest developments in basic sciences would revolutionize human life, and we need to prepare and sensitize our society well ahead.