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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
05:08
Targeted and Selective Treatment of Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Teratomas Using External Beam Radiation in a Small-animal Model
Published on: February 17, 2019
Teratomas from pluripotent stem cells: A clinical hurdle
Chui-Yee Fong1, Kalamegam Gauthaman, Ariff Bongso
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore 119074, Singapore.
Journal of Cellular Biochemistry
|July 29, 2010
Summary
Clinical application of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) faces hurdles like tumorigenesis. This review explores overcoming these risks and suggests alternative multipotent stem cells for safer therapies.
Area of Science:
- Regenerative Medicine
- Stem Cell Biology
- Clinical Translation
Background:
- Basic research in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has advanced rapidly, but clinical applications lag due to significant hurdles.
- Unproven hESC therapies are offered globally, raising safety concerns before robust clinical evidence is available.
- Key challenges for clinical trials include generating adequate cell numbers, preventing immune rejection, and mitigating tumorigenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the risks of tumorigenesis associated with pluripotent stem cells (hESCs, hiPSCs, NTSCs).
- To discuss strategies for overcoming tumorigenesis to enable safe stem cell therapies.
- To highlight the importance of exploring alternative, non-pluripotent stem cell sources for clinical use.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on stem cell expansion and reprogramming techniques.
- Analysis of methods to address immunorejection, including induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and nuclear transfer stem cells (NTSCs).
- Discussion of strategies to mitigate teratoma formation from pluripotent stem cells.
Main Results:
- Advanced methods like bioreactors and rotary culture can generate sufficient cell numbers.
- Reprogramming techniques (hiPSCs, NTSCs) offer potential solutions for immunorejection.
- Pluripotent stem cells (hESCs, hiPSCs, NTSCs) inherently carry a risk of teratoma formation.
Conclusions:
- Overcoming tumorigenesis is critical for safe stem cell-based therapies.
- Exploring alternative multipotent stem cells, which lack pluripotency-associated risks, is essential for timely clinical translation.
- Concurrent research into both risk mitigation and alternative cell sources is needed for rapid development of safe regenerative treatments.
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