Author(s) :

Jiarong Liu .

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Human embryonic stem (ES) cells isolated from human embryos are pluripotent and they have the remarkable ability to differentiate into all different cell types in the human body, thus holding enormous potential for therapeutic applications. But the use of human ES cells has been a topic of ethical and legal debate as it involves the destruction of human embryos. In addition, Immune rejection is another major concern when using human ES cells or their derived other cells as therapies in transplantation. The breakthrough in stem cell research came when human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were discovered in 2007. Human iPSCs, like ES cells, have the potential to differentiate into all cell types in the human body, but don’t involve any human embryos. In addition, it is generally believed that human iPS cells reprogrammed from a patient's own somatic cells would reduce the risk of immune rejection when they or their-derived cells are transplanted back to the same patient. Since the discovery of human iPS cells, a question remains whether the US Government continues to fund human ES cell research. In this article, I discuss this question from three perspectives, the cell originating sources and immunogenicity, clinical trial results and safety for disease treatments.