Embryonic Stem Cells for Therapies – Challenges and Possibilities

Abstract

The successful establishment of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in culture (Thomson et al., 1998) has raised unprecedented public interest and expectation of treating intractable diseases such as diabetes, spinal cord injuries, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Much of this enthusiasm was predicated on the unlimited self-renewal capacity of hESCs and their remarkable plasticity in differentiating into every cell type in our body. These features presented the tantalizing possibility of an unlimited cell source in regenerative medicine to generate any tissues to replace injured or diseased tissues. However, translating the potential of hESC into therapies has been challenging. Although translation of hESC has been severely impeded by social and political constraints placed on hESC research through ethical and religious concerns over the destruction of viable blastocysts during hESC isolation, the main challenges have been safety and technical issues.