Disease Focus: Metabolic Disorders


An in vitro and in vivo comparison among three different human hepatic stem cell populations.

Because there is still considerable morbidity and mortality associated with the process of transplantation, and because more than a thousand people die each year while on the liver transplantation list, it is evident that improved and safer liver transplantation would be valuable, as would approaches that provide for an increased number of transplantations in a […]

Endodermal differentiation of human ES cells

The goals of this proposal are to investigate endodermal differentiation and proliferation in human ES cell cultures. Endodermal cells give rise to the epithelial lining of the respiratory and digestive tract as well as to the liver and pancreas. The future treatment of diseases such as type I diabetes using stem cell therapy relies on […]

Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells to Intestinal Fates

The roughly 25 feet of intestine in the adult human play numerous essential roles in daily life, such as nutrient absorption, secretion of hormones, and serving as a barrier to infection. Commensurate with these diverse roles, diseases of the intestine are a considerable source of human morbidity and mortality. Indeed, numerous pathologic conditions including inflammatory […]

Cell Therapy for Diabetes

Diabetes exacts a tremendous toll on patients, their families, and society in general. Autoimmune Type 1 diabetes, often called juvenile-onset diabetes, is caused by a person’s own immune system mistakenly destroying their insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, known as beta cells. When those beta cells are lost, the ability to produce insulin in response to […]