Clinical Translation of Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine: A Comprehensive Analysis

Abstract

Autologous bone marrow cells enriched for lineage-restricted hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have failed to regenerate (differentiate into non-HSCs) other tissues and thus remain the gold standard only to restore hematopoiesis. Embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) tend to differentiate into their fetal counterparts and thus may not have the potential to regenerate adult tissues, whereas pluripotent, very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) in adult tissues have emerged as likely candidates to be tested for their regenerative potential.