expert corner
Missing elements in stem cell therapy
More than 300 products derived from stem cells are being tested for applications in healthcare worldwide. Despite the stories of success, several obstacles for mass production and large scale application of stem cell technology still exist. What are these challenges, and more importantly, what’ s the way forward? Read the insightful article where Dr Anuradha Vaidya tries to find the answers for you
The stem cell pool in a body resembles a water spring from which numerous stem cells and their cellular derivatives emerge. To set apart resultant cells from their original source,‘ protein-spikes’ appear and disappear on their membranes just like the classic‘ whack-amole’ game. The ability to form new spikes and patterns leads to the generation of special cell types, to fill up needs in various tissue destinations.
Given an inexhaustible pool of stem cells, an obvious question arises: can one use these cells in replenishing tissue that is diseased or missing? This grand challenge of understanding the anatomy and dynamics of stem cells began several decades ago.
The big task was to identify stem cells among many look-alike cells under the microscope, develop their maintenance protocol and deliver the stem cell cargo at a distant site. Technological developments for the last few decades have been so impressive that now it is routine lab-practice to take a normal cell, convert it back into a stem cell and assign a
36 BioVoiceNews | February 2017