Stem cell research is a innovative technology that focuses on using undifferentiated cells able to self-renew through the asymmetrical or symmetrical divisions. Three types of stem cells have been studied in laboratory including embryonic stem cell, adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass and it can give rise to any fetal or adult cell type. Adult stem cells are multipotent, have the ability to differentiate into a limited number of specialized cell types, and have been obtained from the bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, placenta and adipose tissue. Stem cell therapy is the most promising therapy for several degenerative and devastating diseases including digestive tract disease such as liver failure, inflammatory bowel disease, Celiac sprue, and pancreatitis. Further understanding of biological properties of stem cells will lead to safe and successful stem cell therapies.
Adult Stem Cells/cytology/metabolism/transplantation ; Embryonic Stem Cells/cytology/metabolism/transplantation ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells/cytology/metabolism/transplantation ; Stem Cells/*cytology/metabolism

OBJECTIVE To generate hemophilia A (HA) patient-specific inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and induce endothelial differentiation. METHODS Tubular epithelial cells were isolated and cultured from the urine of HA patients. The iPSCs were generated by forced expression of Yamanaka factors (Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4) using retroviruses and characterized by cell morphology, pluripotent marker staining and in vivo differentiation through teratoma formation. Induced endothelial differentiation of the iPSCs was achieved with the OP9 cell co-culture method. RESULTS Patient-specific iPSCs were generated from urine cells of the HA patients, which could be identified by cell morphology, pluripotent stem cell surface marker staining and in vivo differentiation of three germ layers. The teratoma experiment has confirmed that such cells could differentiate into endothelial cells expressing the endothelial-specific markers CD144, CD31 and vWF. CONCLUSION HA patient-specific iPSCs could be generated from urine cells and can differentiate into endothelial cells. This has provided a new HA disease modeling approach and may serve as an applicable autologous cell source for gene correction and cell therapy studies for HA.
Cell Differentiation ; Hemophilia A ; pathology ; therapy ; urine ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; transplantation ; Urine ; cytology

Muscle atrophy caused by nerve injury is a common and difficult clinical problem. The development of stem cell researches has opened up a new way for the treatment of nerve injury-induced muscle atrophy. The induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs)can differentiate into various types of cells and have more advantages than embryonic stem cells (ESCs). After being transplanted into the damaged area, iPSCs are guided by neurogenic signals to the lesion sites, to repair the damaged nerve, promote generation of axon myelination, rebuild neural circuits and restore physiological function. Meanwhile, iPSCs can also differentiate into muscle cells and promote muscle tissue regeneration. Therefore, it would be possible to attenuate muscle atrophy caused by nerve injury with iPSCs treatment.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; transplantation ; Muscular Atrophy ; therapy

Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; Mice ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Teratoma ; pathology

In the adult brain, neural stem cells have been found in two major niches: the dentate gyrus and the subventricular zone [corrected]. Neurons derived from these stem cells contribute to learning, memory, and the autonomous repair of the brain under pathological conditions. Hence, the physiology of adult neural stem cells has become a significant component of research on synaptic plasticity and neuronal disorders. In addition, the recently developed induced pluripotent stem cell technique provides a powerful tool for researchers engaged in the pathological and pharmacological study of neuronal disorders. In this review, we briefly summarize the research progress in neural stem cells in the adult brain and in the neuropathological application of the induced pluripotent stem cell technique.
Hippocampus ; cytology ; metabolism ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Models, Biological ; Neural Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; transplantation ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; metabolism ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Neurogenesis ; Signal Transduction

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were first described in 2006 and have since emerged as a promising cell source for clinical applications. The rapid progression in iPSC technology is still ongoing and directed toward increasing the efficacy of iPSC production and reducing the immunogenic and tumorigenic potential of these cells. Enormous efforts have been made to apply iPSC-based technology in the clinic, for drug screening approaches and cell replacement therapy. Moreover, disease modeling using patient-specific iPSCs continues to expand our knowledge regarding the pathophysiology and prospective treatment of rare disorders. Furthermore, autologous stem cell therapy with patient-specific iPSCs shows great propensity for the minimization of immune reactions and the provision of a limitless supply of cells for transplantation. In this review, we discuss the recent updates in iPSC technology and the use of iPSCs in disease modeling and regenerative medicine.
Animals ; Cellular Reprogramming ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Gene Targeting ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells/*cytology/*transplantation ; Mice ; Models, Biological ; Regenerative Medicine

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are pluripotent cells that have the ability of unlimited self-renewal and can be differentiated into different cell lineages, including neural stem (NS) cells. Diverse regulatory signaling pathways of neural stem cells differentiation have been discovered, and this will be of great benefit to uncover the mechanisms of neuronal differentiation in vivo and in vitro. However, the limitations of hESCs resource along with the religious and ethical concerns impede the progress of ESCs application. Therefore, the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) via somatic cell reprogramming have opened up another new territory for regenerative medicine. iPSCs now can be derived from a number of lineages of cells, and are able to differentiate into certain cell types, including neurons. Patient-specifi c iPSCs are being used in human neurodegenerative disease modeling and drug screening. Furthermore, with the development of somatic direct reprogramming or lineage reprogramming technique, a more effective approach for regenerative medicine could become a complement for iPSCs.
Cell Differentiation ; Cell Lineage ; Cell Transdifferentiation ; Cellular Reprogramming ; drug effects ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; transplantation ; Neural Stem Cells ; cytology ; transplantation ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; therapy ; Regenerative Medicine ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism

Recent advances in the study of human hepatocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) represent new promises for liver disease study and drug discovery. Human hepatocytes or hepatocyte-like cells differentiated from iPSC recapitulate many functional properties of primary human hepatocytes and have been demonstrated as a powerful and efficient tool to model human liver metabolic diseases and facilitate drug development process. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in this field and discuss the future perspective of the application of human iPSC derived hepatocytes.
Cell Differentiation ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Hepatocytes ; cytology ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; transplantation ; Liver Diseases ; therapy ; Models, Biological

Many neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and others often occur as a result of progressive loss of structure or function of neurons. Recently, many groups were able to generate neural cells, either differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or converted from somatic cells. Advances in converted neural cells have opened a new era to ease applications for modeling diseases and screening drugs. In addition, the converted neural cells also hold the promise for cell replacement therapy (Kikuchi et al., 2011; Krencik et al., 2011; Kriks et al., 2011; Nori et al., 2011; Rhee et al., 2011; Schwartz et al., 2012). Here we will mainly discuss most recent progress on using converted functional neural cells to treat neurological diseases and highlight potential clinical challenges and future perspectives.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ; therapy ; Animals ; Cell Transdifferentiation ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; Neurons ; cytology ; transplantation ; Parkinson Disease ; therapy ; Stroke ; therapy

The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs) is a promising advancement in the field of regenerative medicine. Previous studies have indicated that the teratoma-forming propensity of iPSCs is variable; however, the relationship between tumorigenic potential and genomic instability in human iPSCs (HiPSCs) remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we evaluated the malignant potential of HiPSCs by using both colony formation assays and tumorigenicity tests. We demonstrated that HiPSCs formed tumorigenic colonies when grown in cancer cell culture medium and produced malignancies in immunodeficient mice. Furthermore, we analyzed genomic instability in HiPSCs using whole-genome copy number variation analysis and determined that the extent of genomic instability was related with both the cells' propensity to form colonies and their potential for tumorigenesis. These findings indicate a risk for potential malignancy of HiPSCs derived from genomic instability and suggest that quality control tests, including comprehensive tumorigenicity assays and genomic integrity validation, should be rigorously executed before the clinical application of HiPSCs. In addition, HiPSCs should be generated through the use of combined factors or other approaches that decrease the likelihood of genomic instability.
Animals ; Carcinogenesis ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; Genomic Instability ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; transplantation ; Mice ; Mice, SCID ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; Octamer Transcription Factor-3 ; metabolism ; Teratocarcinoma ; etiology ; Teratoma ; etiology ; Tumor Stem Cell Assay