BioScience Trends. 2019;13(4):286. (DOI: 10.5582/bst.2019.01241)

Challenges and advances in stem cell therapy.

Tang W

After decades of research, stem cells have shown tremendous promise to treat a range of diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disease. However, many challenges remain in their transformation from bench to bedside, such as the potential risk of tumorigenicity from undifferentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC), the lack of large-scale culture systems for clinical treatment, and the inconvenience of cell therapy itself. "Cell sheet technology" and secretome therapy represent advances in these regards. With gradual breakthroughs in theory and technology, stem cell therapy will lead to a new medical revolution in the coming era.

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