Human pluripotent stem cells: Towards therapeutic development for the treatment of lifestyle diseases.

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

There are two types of human pluripotent stem cells: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), both of which launched themselves on clinical trials after having taken measures to overcome problems: Blocking rejections by immunosuppressants regarding ESCs and minimizing the risk of tumorigenicity by depleting exogenous gene components regarding iPSCs. It is generally assumed that clinical applications of human pluripotent stem cells should be limited to those cases where there are no alternative measures for treatments because of the risk in transplanting those cells to living bodies. Regarding lifestyle diseases, we have already several therapeutic options, and thus, development of human pluripotent stem cell-based therapeutics tends to be avoided. Nevertheless, human pluripotent stem cells can contribute to the development of new therapeutics in this field. As we will show, there is a case where only a short-term presence of human pluripotent stem-derived cells can exert long-term therapeutic effects even after they are rejected. In those cases, immunologically rejections of ESC- or allogenic iPSC-derived cells may produce beneficial outcomes by nullifying the risk of tumorigenesis without deterioration of therapeutic effects. Another utility of human pluripotent stem cells is the provision of an innovative tool for drug discovery that are otherwi

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.