Cell replacement therapies: is it time to reprogram?

The effect of liver donors' age, gender and metabolic state on pancreatic lineage activation

Autologous cells replacement therapy by liver to pancreas transdifferentiation (TD) allows diabetic patients to be also the donors of their own therapeutic tissue. Aim: To analyze whether the efficiency of the process is affected by liver donors' heterogeneity with regard to age, gender and the metabolic state. Materials & methods: TD of liver cells derived from nondiabetic and diabetic donors at different ages was characterized at molecular and cellular levels, in vitro. Results: Neither liver cells proliferation nor the propagated cells TD efficiency directly correlate with the age (3-60 years), gender or the metabolic state of the donors. Conclusion: Human liver cells derived from a wide array of ages and metabolic states can be used for autologous cells therapies for diabetics.

Advances in stem cell research and therapeutic development

Despite many reports of putative stem-cell-based treatments in genetic and degenerative disorders or severe injuries, the number of proven stem cell therapies has remained small. In this Review, we survey advances in stem cell research and describe the cell types that are currently being used in the clinic or are close to clinical trials. Finally, we analyse the scientific rationale, experimental approaches, caveats and results underpinning the clinical use of such stem cells.

Non-embryo-destructive Extraction of Pluripotent Embryonic Stem Cells: Implications for Regenerative Medicine and Reproductive Medicine

On August 1, 2013, the German Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent for the "Non-embryo-destructive extraction of pluripotent embryonic stem cells, stem cells obtained by this process and their uses" (DE 10 2004 062 184 B4). The patent document describes a non-embryo-destructive process to harvest embryonic stem cells from the inner cell mass (ICM) during the blastocyst development stage. The patent application was filed with the German Patent Office in Munich on December 23, 2004 and the patent claim was published in 2006. The patent was granted on August 1, 2013. Processing the patent application was a lengthy affair due to the fact that, for a long time, the prevailing opinion in Germany was that genetic screening of embryos (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) was prohibited under the German Embryo Protection Act (ESchG). A ruling by the German Federal Court in 2010 proved this opinion to be false. Animal studies have provided the evidence that the described procedure is technically feasible; healthy offspring were born after stem cells were harvested from the blastocyst and stored. We report here on a technique for the non-embryo-destructive extraction of pluripotent embryonic stem cells together with potential future applications for stem cells harvested in this manner.