The Potential of Selectively Cultured Adult Stem Cells Re-implanted in Tissues

Abstract

For stem cell research the focus in the past has been on embryonic stem cells, cells from which humans are initially constructed, but which are limited in availability. A new direction in stem cell research is looking at a different kind of pluripotent cells – adult stem cells, which are responsible for maintenance and repair of tissue. To retrieve and grow stem cells remains an important challenge in medicine, but carries the hope to cure many diseases. Pluripotent adult stem cells have been found in many organs and also in cancer tumors. Adult stem cells can both self-renew and differentiate to replace compromised tissue in the organ where they reside. If single adult tumor stem cells can re-grow into a new tumor, just as adult stem cells can rebuild a physiological organ, the potential of adult stem cells would be significant in new cancer therapy and organ engineering approaches.