Human Stem Cell Use: Embryonic Stem Cell
Production of Oocytes from Human ES Cells
The ability of human embryonic stem (hES) cells to form a wide variety of adult human cell types offers hope for development of novel therapies to treat human degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and muscular dystrophy. However, to prevent rejection of the transplanted cells by a patient’s immune system it will be important to […]
Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Embryonic Stem Cells
Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Embryonic Stem Cells {REDACTED} A major concern for the utilization of human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) for cell replacement therapy is that with prolonged culture, the capacity of the cells to generate the desired cell types for therapy declines. While the reason for this is currently unknown, our research suggests that an […]
Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Remyelination in a Viral Model of Demyelination
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurologic disease affecting young adults under the age of 40 with the majority of MS patients diagnosed in the second or third decade of life. MS is characterized by the gradual loss of the myelin sheath that surrounds and insulates axons that allow for the conduction of nerve […]
Patient-specific cells with nuclear transfer
Somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT) is a powerful research tool with the potential for creating unique cell and tissue sources for studies of disease pathogenesis and regenerative medicine. Creation of pluripotent mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells using NT has been achieved and the prospects for generating human ES cells by NT are promising. However, there […]
Down-Regulation of Alloreactive Immune Responses to hES Cell-Derived Graft Tissues
Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) are proteins that are expressed on the surface of almost all cells in the body. Because HLA sequences are highly variable and each person generally has a different set of HLA gene sequences, these cell surface markers serve as the identifiers of “self” vs. “non-self”. If immune cells in the body […]
In Vivo Imaging of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derivatives and Tumorigenicity
Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are one of the most fascinating subjects of interest in all of biology and medicine these days. Under certain physiologic conditions, they can be induced to become specialized cells such as brain, cardiac, liver, pancreatic, and bone marrow cells. This opens up the exciting possibility that hESCs may one day […]
Genetic manipulation of human embryonic stem cells and its application in studying CNS development and repair
The advent of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has offered enormous potential for regenerative medicine and for basic understanding of human biology. On the one hand, hESCs can be turned into many different cell types in culture dish, and specific cell types derived from hESCs offer an almost infinite source for cellular replacement therapies. This […]
Modeling Parkinson’s Disease Using Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most frequent neurodegenerative movement disorder caused by damage of dopamine-producing nerve cells (DA neuron) in patient brain. The main symptoms of PD are age-dependent tremors (shakiness). There is no cure for PD despite administration of levodopa can help to control symptoms. Most of PD cases are sporadic in the general […]
Embryonic stem cell-derived thymic epithelial cells
The function of the immune system throughout life is essential for protection from infections and cancer. T lymphocytes are white blood cells that choreograph the multiple responses that the body uses to control infection. T lymphocytes are produced in the thymus, a specialized organ located in the chest in front of the heart. The production […]
Self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells
Human embryonic stem (ES) cells are a remarkable cell type that are derived from a group of cells called the inner cell mass (ICM) of a very early stage embryo (about 100 cells in total) obtained from in vitro fertilization program. Human ES cells can be expanded in culture in an undifferentiated state (self-renewal) without […]