• Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-implantation embryo. (wikipedia.org)
  • Pluripotent stem cells have shown promise in treating a number of varying conditions, including but not limited to: spinal cord injuries, age related macular degeneration, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders (such as Parkinson's disease), AIDS, etc. (wikipedia.org)
  • Therapeutic Cloning - Use of a donor cell to create pluripotent stem cells suitable for growing tissues for implantation into the donor or other patient. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Researchers are currently focusing heavily on the therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells, with clinical use being the goal for many laboratories. (wikipedia.org)
  • Embryonic stem cells (ESCs), derived from the blastocyst stage of early mammalian embryos, are distinguished by their ability to differentiate into any embryonic cell type and by their ability to self-renew. (wikipedia.org)
  • Embryonic stem cells of the inner cell mass are pluripotent, meaning they are able to differentiate to generate primitive ectoderm, which ultimately differentiates during gastrulation into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm. (wikipedia.org)
  • Pluripotency distinguishes embryonic stem cells from adult stem cells, which are multipotent and can only produce a limited number of cell types. (wikipedia.org)
  • Under defined conditions, embryonic stem cells are capable of self-renewing indefinitely in an undifferentiated state. (wikipedia.org)
  • Pluripotency factors Oct4 and Nanog play a role in transcriptionally regulating the embryonic stem cell cycle. (wikipedia.org)
  • Due to their plasticity and potentially unlimited capacity for self-renewal, embryonic stem cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease. (wikipedia.org)
  • In addition to their potential in regenerative medicine, embryonic stem cells provide a possible alternative source of tissue/organs which serves as a possible solution to the donor shortage dilemma. (wikipedia.org)
  • According to a 2002 article in PNAS, "Human embryonic stem cells have the potential to differentiate into various cell types, and, thus, may be useful as a source of cells for transplantation or tissue engineering. (wikipedia.org)
  • Stem cell technologies have been dogged by controversy because of objections over the morality of sacrificing human embryos to produce the first human embryonic stem cell lines. (schlich.co.uk)
  • if you have a choice of starting material and are forced to use embryonic stem cells to carry out the invention, ensure you describe the use of embryonic stem cells from morally acceptable sources in your patent application. (schlich.co.uk)
  • The greater legal certainty provided by recent court cases means that patent rights, and the investment they attract, can be secured for human embryonic stem-cell based technologies. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Embryonic stem cell technology is still at a preliminary research stage and announcements about its potential may be premature. (edu.au)
  • Experts from around the world are assessing the difficult issue of the extent to which embryonic stem cell research should be allowed to proceed, and to date there is little international consensus on this matter. (edu.au)
  • How, then, should embryonic stem cell research be regulated in Australia? (edu.au)
  • In this article we examine embryonic stem cell research and explore the current regulatory framework associated with this research in Australia, with particular reference to the Andrews Report . (edu.au)
  • Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4-5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50-150 cells. (wikipedia.org)
  • Isolating the inner cell mass (embryoblast) using immunosurgery results in destruction of the blastocyst, a process which raises ethical issues, including whether or not embryos at the pre-implantation stage have the same moral considerations as embryos in the post-implantation stage of development. (wikipedia.org)
  • In this regard, emerging technologies of chimeric human organ production via blastocyst complementation (BC) holds great promise. (frontiersin.org)
  • When provided with the appropriate signals, ESCs initially form precursor cells that in subsequently differentiate into the desired cell types. (wikipedia.org)
  • To take human organ generation via BC and transplantation to the next step, we reviewed current emerging organ generation technologies and the associated efficiency of chimera formation in human cells from the standpoint of developmental biology. (frontiersin.org)
  • The cells are being studied to be used as clinical therapies, models of genetic disorders, and cellular/DNA repair. (wikipedia.org)
  • We now see a patent landscape where stem cell technologies and related therapies can, with very few exceptions, be protected via patents, provided the appropriate form of claim wording is used. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Stem cell technologies promise to be the next transformative medical technology offering therapies for conditions and diseases that are currently beyond medical science by creating replacement or supplementary tissues for a patient. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Stem cells may be derived from adult tissues but the most potent are extracted from developing human embryos. (edu.au)
  • The ethical and legal controversies that were aroused in the ART debates during the 1980s have been re-ignited with the development of stem cell technology. (edu.au)
  • This issue was considered by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in its report entitled Human Cloning: Scientific, Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Human Cloning and Stem Cell Research (hereafter the Andrews Report , after the Chair of the Committee, Mr Kevin Andrews, MP) released in September 2001. (edu.au)
  • The report arose out of a recommendation for the Committee to review the report of the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) of the NHMRC entitled Scientific, Ethical and Regulatory Considerations Relevant to Cloning of Human Beings (hereafter the AHEC Report ). (edu.au)
  • However, though BC is emerging as a potential organ transplant option, challenges regarding organ size scalability, immune system incompatibilities, long-term maintenance, potential evolutionary distance, or unveiled mechanisms between donor and host cells remain. (frontiersin.org)
  • Reproductive Cloning - Use of a donor cell to create a new human genetically identical to the donor. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Furthermore, the first source of stem cell technology is controversial. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Stem cell technology is the latest development in this controversial branch of science. (edu.au)
  • Retinoblastoma proteins that inhibit the transcription factor E2F until the cell is ready to enter S phase are hyperphosphorylated and inactivated in ESCs, leading to continual expression of proliferation genes. (wikipedia.org)
  • In this review, we summarize the history of interspecies chimerism in various animal models to find hints for BC application and describe the challenges and prospects of utilizing BC for human organ generation. (frontiersin.org)
  • In ancient history, humans used the term "chimera" to describe mythical creatures and hybrids. (frontiersin.org)
  • Rapid cell division allows the cells to quickly grow in number, but not size, which is important for early embryo development. (wikipedia.org)
  • Aside from these uses, ESCs can also be used for research on early human development, certain genetic disease, and in vitro toxicology testing. (wikipedia.org)
  • Stem cells promise a great many things. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Stem cells may underpin the next generation of pharmaceuticals, with even greater promise for successful treatment of diseases that are intractable or scarcely treatable now. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Assisted reproductive technology (ART) and embryo research have posed many challenges to the different timeframes of science, ethics and law. (edu.au)
  • Despite this difference in the cell cycle when compared to ESCs grown in media containing serum these cells have similar pluripotent characteristics. (wikipedia.org)
  • Stem cell technology in humans derives from earlier and complementary work in animal studies. (edu.au)
  • Depending on the patient's medical condition, a refractory disease patient also requires an on-time selective option, such as less invasive cellular therapy options or curative organ transplantation that can function immediately after transplantation. (frontiersin.org)
  • reagents made using a patient's own cells used to regenerate disease or damaged tissues 14,15 , once the stuff of science fiction, may become science fact. (schlich.co.uk)
  • The unique properties of human stem cells have aroused considerable optimism about their potential as new pathways for alleviating human suffering caused by disease and injury. (edu.au)
  • In particular the European Patent Office, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Japan Patent Office and State Intellectual Property Office of China have published guidelines covering patenting of stem cell technologies in the light of recent decisions. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Patent law around the world has now developed to define the boundaries between stem cell technologies that can be patented and those that cannot. (schlich.co.uk)
  • Stem cells offer the prospect of treatments for diseases and injuries that are currently beyond medical science. (schlich.co.uk)
  • The third approach comprises a variety of proposals for engineering "biological artifacts" possessing some of the developmental capacities of natural embryogenesis (but lacking the organismal character of human embryos) and containing cells from which pluripotent stem cell lines can be derived. (georgetown.edu)
  • [ 45 ] The use of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from the umbilical cord matrix in animal models of Parkinsonism has resulted in positive findings. (medscape.com)
  • Pluripotency distinguishes embryonic stem cells from adult stem cells, which are multipotent and can only produce a limited number of cell types. (wikipedia.org)
  • However, the Holy See applauds and encourages research using adult stem cells, because it is completely compatible with respect for the dignity of human beings. (lifeissues.net)
  • The unexpected plasticity of adult stem cells has made it possible to use this type of undifferentiated, self-renewing cell successfully for the healing of various human tissues and organs, 1 particularly in hearts damaged after myocardial infarction. (lifeissues.net)
  • 2 The multiple therapeutic achievements that have been demonstrated using adult stem cells, and the promise they hold for other diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders or diabetes, make efforts to support this fruitful avenue of investigation an urgent matter. (lifeissues.net)
  • Above all, it is universally agreed that the use of adult stem cells does not entail any ethical problems. (lifeissues.net)
  • The morula then turns into a blastocyst, which will give rise to three types of pluripotent stem cells: embryonic stem (ES) cells, umbilical cord blood stem cells and adult stem cells. (medscape.com)
  • Induced pluripotency has emerged as one of the main methodologies to derive patient-specific pluripotent cells (iPSCs) by reprogramming of adult stem cells using defined reprogramming factors [ 6 ]. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The in vitro derivation of human germ cells has attracted interest in the last years, but their direct conversion from human somatic cells has not yet been reported. (nature.com)
  • Here we tested the ability of human male somatic cells to directly convert into a meiotic germ cell-like phenotype by inducing them with a combination of selected key germ cell developmental factors. (nature.com)
  • We started with a pool of 12 candidates that were reduced to 6, demonstrating that ectopic expression of the germ line-related genes PRDM1, PRDM14, LIN28A, DAZL, VASA and SYCP3 induced direct conversion of somatic cells (hFSK (46, XY) and hMSC (46, XY)) into a germ cell-like phenotype in vitro . (nature.com)
  • Based on our knowledge of the murine germ line development, here we present a model for direct germ cell-like conversion from human somatic cells in vitro by genetic induction of selected key germ cell factors. (nature.com)
  • or (4) by dedifferentiation of somatic cells back to pluripotency. (georgetown.edu)
  • Pluripotency factors Oct4 and Nanog play a role in transcriptionally regulating the embryonic stem cell cycle. (wikipedia.org)
  • Due to their plasticity and potentially unlimited capacity for self-renewal, embryonic stem cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease. (wikipedia.org)
  • Embryonic stem-cell experiments have not yet produced a single unqualified therapeutic success, not even in animal models. (lifeissues.net)
  • Unless these grave hazards are removed, embryonic stem-cell experiments would not have any clinical application. (lifeissues.net)
  • Accordingly, in an effort to find ethically uncontroversial ways to advance human embryonic stem cell research, the Council has recently been looking into specific proposals for obtaining pluripotent, genetically stable, and long-lived human stem cells by methods that would meet the moral standard of not destroying or endangering human embryos in the process. (georgetown.edu)
  • Embryonic stem cells (ESCs), derived from the blastocyst stage of early mammalian embryos, are distinguished by their ability to differentiate into any embryonic cell type and by their ability to self-renew. (wikipedia.org)
  • Aside from these uses, ESCs can also be used for research on early human development, certain genetic disease, and in vitro toxicology testing. (wikipedia.org)
  • Subpopulations of cells from both the cord blood and the cord stroma, although they are of mesodermal origin, have demonstrated a potential to differentiate into neural (ectodermal) cells in vitro . (medscape.com)
  • Knowledge obtained from this work can be used to create in vitro models to study gamete-related diseases in humans. (nature.com)
  • Thus, there is an increasing interest in the search for alternatives to generate autologous germ cells in vitro . (nature.com)
  • In this study, we aimed to isolate EVs from the porcine oviductal epithelial cells (POECs) that were primed with steroid hormones including estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4), mimicking the in vivo conditions of the reproductive cycle and studied their effects on in vitro produced embryonic development. (bvsalud.org)
  • Embryos were prepared after in vitro maturation either by parthenogenetic activation or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technique. (bvsalud.org)
  • Disease severity correlated with CD71 expression in cells from male and female patients with SLE, and blocking CD71 in vitro enhanced interleukin 10 secretion. (nih.gov)
  • Retinoblastoma proteins that inhibit the transcription factor E2F until the cell is ready to enter S phase are hyperphosphorylated and inactivated in ESCs, leading to continual expression of proliferation genes. (wikipedia.org)
  • It has been well established that most of the non-human embryos produced through nuclear transfer cloning are abnormal, with a deficiency in several of the genes (imprinted and non imprinted) necessary to the development of the early embryo. (lifeissues.net)
  • This asexual form of reproduction would bypass the usual "shuffling" of genes that makes every individual unique in his or her genome and would arbitrarily fix the genotype in one particular configuration, 12 with predictable negative genetic consequences for the human gene pool. (lifeissues.net)
  • While in each EVs supplemented group (control EVs, H1 EVs, H2 EVs), the expression of cell reprogramming-related genes in cloned embryos showed a tendency of increase, the effect was stronger in H1 EVs and H2 EVs. (bvsalud.org)
  • Through bioinformatic analysis, we identified several potential target genes of the miRNAs present in royal jelly, including those involved in developmental processes and cell differentiation. (bvsalud.org)
  • Here, we apply allele-specific RNA-seq on isogenic B6D2F1 mice to assay imprinted genes in tissues from early embryonic tissues between E3.5 and E7.25 and in pluripotent cell lines to evaluate maintenance of imprinted gene expression. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-implantation embryo. (wikipedia.org)
  • When provided with the appropriate signals, ESCs initially form precursor cells that in subsequently differentiate into the desired cell types. (wikipedia.org)
  • ESCs divide very frequently due to a shortened G1 phase in their cell cycle. (wikipedia.org)
  • Although high expression levels of pro-proliferative proteins and a shortened G1 phase have been linked to maintenance of pluripotency, ESCs grown in serum-free 2i conditions do express hypo-phosphorylated active Retinoblastoma proteins and have an elongated G1 phase. (wikipedia.org)
  • Despite this difference in the cell cycle when compared to ESCs grown in media containing serum these cells have similar pluripotent characteristics. (wikipedia.org)
  • Should stem cells obtainable by one or another of these methods turn out to have exactly the same properties and capacities as embryonic stem cells (ESCs), their value for scientific research should be no different from that of standard ESCs. (georgetown.edu)
  • For the cell lines, we include embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) derived from fertilized embryos and from embryos obtained after nuclear transfer (NT) or parthenogenetic activation (PGA). (biomedcentral.com)
  • Both ESCs and EpiSCs can be directed to differentiate into a wide variety of mature cell types. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Treating parthenogenetic embryo with EVs, led a significantly higher rate of the blastocyst formation in the group supplemented with each EVs, compared to the control group. (bvsalud.org)
  • 9 Embryonic stem cells harvested from abnormal and unfit embryos will carry their "epigenetic defects" and transmit at least part of them to their daughter cells. (lifeissues.net)
  • Induced germ cell-like cells showed a marked switch in their transcriptomic profile and expressed several post-meiotic germ line related markers, showed meiotic progression, evidence of epigenetic reprogramming and approximately 1% were able to complete meiosis as demonstrated by their haploid status and the expression of several post-meiotic markers. (nature.com)
  • Moreover, during their development germ cells suffer a complete germline-specific epigenetic remodeling that is essential to coordinate its development 4 . (nature.com)
  • 8 Technical problems aside, the need to extract these cells from living human embryos raises ethical questions of the highest order. (lifeissues.net)
  • 4. The so-called "therapeutic cloning", which would be better called "research cloning" because we are still far from therapeutic applications, has been proposed in order to avert the potential immune rejection of embryonic stem cells derived from a donor other than the host. (lifeissues.net)
  • In addition, genetic mismatch of the transplanted tissue with the recipient remains a potential concern, but although studies so far have demonstrated some immune responses, they are, however, much weaker than those involved in organ transplantation. (medscape.com)
  • To avoid an allogeneic immune response during transplantation of these cells, a matching genotype between donor and recipient cells is of key importance. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Embryonic stem cells of the inner cell mass are pluripotent, meaning they are able to differentiate to generate primitive ectoderm, which ultimately differentiates during gastrulation into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm. (wikipedia.org)
  • According to a 2002 article in PNAS, "Human embryonic stem cells have the potential to differentiate into various cell types, and, thus, may be useful as a source of cells for transplantation or tissue engineering. (wikipedia.org)
  • Stem cells are defined as cells that can proliferate and self-renew, differentiate into the major lineages of the tissue they are derived from and, theoretically, regenerate the tissue and/or organ they were derived from. (medscape.com)
  • From a biological standpoint, bringing cloned human embryos to birth would be dangerous for the human species. (lifeissues.net)
  • In this review, we summarize the role of EVs biogenesis and pathways that might have role on their structure, and the role of cryo-EM in characterization of EVs morphology in different biological samples and integrate new knowledge of the alterations of membranous structures of EVs which could be used as biomarkers to human diseases. (bvsalud.org)
  • Researchers are currently focusing heavily on the therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells, with clinical use being the goal for many laboratories. (wikipedia.org)
  • In addition, to satisfy the moral standard, only those once-frozen embryos that are thawed and that die spontaneously during efforts to produce a child will be eligible for post-mortem cell extraction. (georgetown.edu)
  • Umbilical cord stem cells (UCSCs) represent a special category of cells that may potentially be used for personalized cell therapy after long-term storage. (medscape.com)
  • [ 44 ] Human umbilical cord blood infusions could potentially benefit animals modeling various neurodegenerative diseases. (medscape.com)
  • [ 46 ] In an animal model of stroke involving middle cerebral artery occlusion, human umbilical cord blood cells introduced by intravenous infusion into rats lead to improved functional recovery, [ 47 ] with some of the human cord blood cells having entered the site of the stroke and expressing neuronal and astroglial markers. (medscape.com)
  • These germ layers generate each of the more than 220 cell types in the adult human body. (wikipedia.org)
  • After PGC specification, murine germ cells go through several developmental stages that are tightly regulated both at the transcriptional level by transcription factors, but also at the translational level by RNA-binding proteins. (nature.com)
  • Self-renewal conditions must prevent the cells from clumping and maintain an environment that supports an unspecialized state. (wikipedia.org)
  • Thus, the Holy See earnestly encourages investigations that are being carried out in the fields of medicine and biology, with the goal of curing diseases and of improving the quality of life of all, provided that they are respectful of the dignity of the human being. (lifeissues.net)
  • Cyclin-dependent kinases such as CDK2 that promote cell cycle progression are overactive, in part due to downregulation of their inhibitors. (wikipedia.org)
  • Researchers have previously observed that human pegivirus (HPgV) infection is associated with reduced progression of HIV. (nih.gov)
  • Next, we cloned their Consensus Coding Sequences (CCDSs) into a lentiviral expression backbone with a CMV promoter and a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter (pLenti7.3/V5-DEST, Life Technologies) and used lentiviral particles to transduce them into human foreskin fibroblasts (hFSK) (46, XY) ( Supplementary Figure S1C ). (nature.com)
  • To investigate the potential roles of RJEVs in cell viability, RJEVs were supplemented to apoptotic porcine kidney fibroblasts induced by ethanol 6% exposure for 30 min. (bvsalud.org)
  • ES cells were isolated first from the mouse [ 34 , 35 ] and then from other species including the human, [ 36 ] from pluripotent cells harvested from the inner cell mass of the pre-implantation embryo. (medscape.com)
  • Owing to their potential for generating a multitude of cell types and their consideration for clinical applications, ES cells have received great attention over the past decade. (medscape.com)
  • In each of these four cases, the scientific standard by which success should be measured is only the desired functional capacity of the cells derived-stable pluripotency-and not their origin (embryos, adults, or artificial embryo-like clusters of cells). (georgetown.edu)
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease in which dysfunctional T cells exhibit abnormalities in metabolism. (nih.gov)
  • Rapid cell division allows the cells to quickly grow in number, but not size, which is important for early embryo development. (wikipedia.org)
  • Crucial to this approach is finding a stage of early embryonic development at which (a) the removal of one or a few cells by biopsy can be carried out without harming the embryo, while (b) the cell or cells removed from the embryo are usable as a source of pluripotent stem cells. (georgetown.edu)
  • In short-term studies, undifferentiated human ES cells were not immunologically rejected after intramuscular injection into immunocompetent mice, [ 41 ] although when ES-cell transplants were investigated for longer time periods, the transplanted cells were eliminated. (medscape.com)
  • These vesicles participate in cell-to-cell communication and carry a diverse range of bioactive cargo molecules, such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. (bvsalud.org)
  • they can further produce progenitor or mature cells deriving from these layers under specific culture conditions. (medscape.com)
  • Crucial to this approach is (a) enunciating a concept of organismic death of an early embryo and (b) devising criteria that permit a determination that embryonic death has occurred. (georgetown.edu)