Stem Cell Research in Aesthetic Medicine

Abstract

Stem cells comprise the central core of every tissue within our organism. They are unspecialized cells, able to divide for long periods, and give rise to all differentiated cells in the body. Current therapies of advance tissue failure require ultimately their replacement by organ transplantation, which involves complex procedures and chronic severe adverse effects. Regenerative medicine arose from the demand to provide alternative effective treatment for this population, replacing human cells through tissue regeneration. This novel field displays several therapeutic strategies, from directed cell therapy to tissue bioengineering, demonstrating in numerous research trials neoangiogenic and immunomodulatory properties. Distinctive types of stem cell have been recognized. Embryonic stem cells have been proven to differentiate into cells from all three embryonic germ layers, while tissue-specific stem cells maintain organ homeostasis and differentiate into the specialized cells types from where they reside. Induced pluripotent stem cells are adult somatic cells genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state, resulting in pluripotency capability. Meanwhile, in the blood from the placenta and umbilical cord, umbilical stem cells can be isolated. Stem cell-based therapies have been proven to have adequate safety profiles and therapeutic effects in a number of pathological conditions in aesthetic medicine, from unsuccessful wound healing to adipose graft in soft tissue filling, employing biomaterials in cartilage defects and bone reconstruction, and promoting antiaging mechanisms in damaged skin. However, several issues need to be properly addressed before their full potential can be realized.