Proceedings of the 14th Novo Nordisk Symposium on Growth Hormone and Endocrinology, Estoril/Lisbon, March 28-29, 2003 and Proceedings of the SGA Satellite Symposium, Estoril/Lisbon, March 27, 2003. Editors: M.B. Ranke, Tübingen; J.S. Christiansen, Aarhus

Implications of Stem Cell Research in Endocrinology

Potential of Human Embryonic Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine
Robert Passier

Hubrecht Laboratory, Netherlands Institute for Developmental Biology, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Address of Corresponding Author

Horm Res 2003;60 (Suppl. 3):11-14 (DOI: 10.1159/000074494)

  Key Words

• Embryonic stem cells
• Human stem cells
• Transplantation
• Repair
• Culture
• Differentiation
• Rejection
• Genetic manipulation

  Abstract

Stem cells can give rise to more stem cells or differentiate into more specialized cells. In the last 5 years not only have researchers succeeded in isolating human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines but also in identifying adult stem cells with possible pluripotent differentiation capacity. The shortage of donor organs or tissues for regenerative medicine has further stimulated research into the capacity of stem cells to differentiate into different cells and their use in replacement therapy in diseases such as Parkinson's, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and myocardial infarction. Current problems and recent progress with respect to hES cells and their potential use for clinical applications will be discussed. The potential of adult stem cells for differentiation and tissue repair is reviewed elsewhere.

Copyright © 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Robert Passier
Hubrecht Laboratory, Netherlands Institute for Developmental Biology
Uppsalalaan 8
NL-3584 CT Utrecht (The Netherlands)
Tel. +31 30 2121938, Fax +31 30 2516464, E-Mail robert@niob.knaw.nl

  Article Information

Number of Print Pages : 4
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 25