Alternative In Vivo Models to Study Teratoma

Abstract

Embryonic stem cells give rise to teratomas when injected in vivo in experimental animal models. The characterization, the manipulation, and the breaking off of this specific characteristic are doubtlessly the last frontier for the applications of stem cells in translational medicine. Moreover, the urgency to adapt to new scientific demands drives the researcher to find alternative and faster models for testing the teratogenic properties of embryonic stem cells. Here, we compare the emerging model of the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) to the murine model, which represents the gold standard procedure for teratogenesis.