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This Article Free via Open Access: OA OA Full Text Full Text (PDF) OA All Versions of this Article: 2008-0421v1 26/11/2753    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Condic, M. L. Articles by Rao, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Condic, M. L. Articles by Rao, M.

EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS/INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS

Regulatory Issues for Personalized Pluripotent Cells

^aDepartment of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;
^bRegenerative Medicine, Invitrogen Corp., Carlsbad, California, USA;
^cNeurosciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Key Words. Induced pluripotent stem cells • Embryonic stem cell • Somatic cell nuclear transfer • Pluripotency • Reprogramming

Correspondence: Correspondence: Maureen L. Condic, Ph.D., University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, 401 MREB, 20 North 1900 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132-3401, USA. Telephone: 801-585-3482; Fax: 801-581-4233; e-mail: mlcondic{at}neuro.utah.edu

Received on April 29, 2008; accepted for publication on July 17, 2008.

First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS  July 31, 2008.

The development of personalized pluripotent stem cells for research and for possible therapies holds out great hope for patients. However, such cells will face significant technical and regulatory challenges before they can be used as therapeutic reagents. Here we consider two possible sources of personalized pluripotent stem cells: embryonic stem cells derived from nuclear transfer (NT-ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from direct reprogramming of adult somatic cells. Both sources of personalized pluripotent stem cells face unique regulatory hurdles that are in some ways significantly higher than those facing stem cells derived from embryos produced by fertilization (ESCs). However, the outstanding long-term potential of iPSCs and their relative freedom from the ethical concerns raised by both ESCs and NT-ESCs makes direct reprogramming an exceptionally promising approach to advancing research and providing therapies in the field of regenerative medicine.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.