Progressing a human embryonic stem-cell-based regenerative medicine therapy towards the clinic

Since the first publication of the derivation of human embryonic stem cells in 1998, there has been hope and expectation that this technology will lead to a wave of regenerative medicine therapies with the potential to revolutionize our approach to managing certain diseases. Despite significant resources in this direction, the path to the clinic for an embryonic stem-cell-based regenerative medicine therapy has not proven straightforward, though in the past few years progress has been made. Here, with a focus upon retinal disease, we discuss the current status of the development of such therapies. We also highlight some of our own experiences of progressing a retinal pigment epithelium cell replacement therapy towards the clinic.     

组织工程的突破与挑战——组织工程国家工程中心科研进展

组织工程技术已被普遍认为是解决组织、器官缺损修复与功能重建的有效手段,它的飞速发展依赖于细胞学、材料学、工程学、临床医学等多学科的交叉渗透.作为组织工程的三大核心,种子细胞、生物材料、组织构建各方面的突破,为组织工程技术的发展奠定了基础.组织工程国家工程中心近年来围绕上述核心开展了系列研究,通过研究胚胎干细胞、成体干细胞、同种异体干细胞、以及发育同源细胞替代的探索,为解决种子细胞来源问题提供了多种选择;生物支架材料的开发,为细胞增殖分化、组织再生提供理想的支持与空间,而生物反应器的开发与应用,进一步提高了组织构建技术,为促进组织的体外形成、重塑和功能成熟创造了条件.在此基础上,开展了大动物体内组织构建和缺损修复的研究,形成了以应用为目标的研究特色,并成功将部分技术应用于临床治疗.本文将对组织工程国家工程中心已有进展做简单介绍并对面临的挑战进行分析.     

Ultrastructural and immunohistological characterization of the sirc corneal cell line

Summary A widely utilized rabbit corneal cell line, SIRC, was characterized ultrastructurally and immunohistologically. Although SIRC cells are often described as being of epithelial origin, important ultrastructural and antigenic characteristics indicate that these cells are fibroblastic and not epithelial. SIRC cells lack desmosomes, cytoplasmic filaments, and cytokeratin—structures that are characteristic of corneal epithelial cells. By contrast, the dendritic morphology, presence of vimentin, and the extensive dense accumulations of ribosomes and rough endoplasmic reticulum are consistent with a fibroblastic phenotype. Collectively, the morphology, ultrastructural features, and antigenic composition favor the hypothesis that SIRC cells are fibroblastic cells (keratocytes) and not corneal epithelial cells. This work supported in part by grant EY 07641 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, and an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc., New York.     

Safeguarding clinical translation of pluripotent stem cells with suicide genes

The generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) opens a new avenue in regenerative medicine. However, transplantation of hiPSC-derived cells carries a risk of tumor formation by residual pluripotent stem cells. Numerous adaptive strategies have been developed to prevent or minimize adverse events and control the in vivo behavior of transplanted stem cells and their progeny. Among them, the application of suicide gene modifications, which is conceptually similar to cancer gene therapy, is considered an ideal means to control wayward stem cell progeny in vivo. In this review, the choices of vectors, promoters, and genes for use in suicide gene approaches for improving the safety of hiPSCs-based cell therapy are introduced and possible new strategies for improvements are discussed. Safety-enhancing strategies that can selectively ablate undifferentiated cells without inducing virus infection or insertional mutations may greatly aid in translating human pluripotent stem cells into cell therapies in the future.