· Wound Healing: 114 for embryonic stem cells vs. 330 for adult mesenchymal stem cells, 565 for adult epithelial stem cells. For a more detailed analysis, take a look at the American Stem Cell Therapy Assocition (ASCTA) white paper on adult stem cells vs. embronic stem cell research. Summary? Adult stem cell research is much farther ahead.
Embryonic germ cells (EG cells) are thought to have properties similar to embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells—Primitive (undifferentiated) cells derived from a 5-day preimplantation embryo that are capable of dividing without differentiating for a prolonged period in culture, and are known to develop into cells and tissues of the three primary germ layers.
The news is filled lately with stories about the promise of adult stem-cell therapy. Last fall, for example, researchers reported they successfully produced stem cells from adult skin cells, bypassing the need for embryonic stem cells.
Adult stem cells are rare in mature tissues, so isolating these cells from an adult tissue is challenging, and methods to expand their numbers in cell culture have not yet been worked out. This is an important distinction, as large numbers of cells are needed for stem cell replacement therapies.
Adult versus Embryonic Stem Cells Dr. Mae-Wan Ho gives the latest score-sheet in the great stem cell debate. In June, the journal Nature published two articles online, one describing the use of embryonic stem (ES) cells to reverse the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease [1], the other, the isolation of adult stems cells from bone marrow that can produce all cell types in the body [2].
Interestingly, there are some fascinating findings related to using adult vs. embryonic stem cells. From the Life Issues Institute: “To date, current research on embryonic …
The news is filled lately with stories about the promise of adult stem-cell therapy. Last fall, for example, researchers reported they successfully produced stem cells from adult skin cells, bypassing the need for embryonic stem cells.
Such is the case with adult stem cell therapy for heart attacks and breast cancer—two conditions for which Prentice and Tarne improperly claimed that adult stem cells provide effective therapy [see the Supporting Online Material of our Letter “Adult stem cell treatments for diseases?”, 28 July 2006, p. 439 ].
For most of us, the classification into “adult stem cell researcher” or “embryonic stem cell researcher” is artificial because we study many kinds of stem cells. Similarly, non-scientists can be for both adult and embryonic stem cell research. It is not an either or proposition.
Adult stem cells are generally less flexible and versatile than embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells have a far greater differentiation potential than adult stem cells simply because embryonic stem cells can develop into almost every type of cell in the human body.
