Human embryonic germ cells for future neuronal replacement therapy.
Stem cell therapy offers exciting potential for ambitious cellular replacement to treat human (h) disease, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease or even replacement of the cell death that follows thromboembolic stroke. The realisation of these treatments requires cellular resources possessing three essential characteristics: (i) self-renewal, (ii) the ability to differentiate to physiologically normal cell types and (iii) lack of tumourigenicity. Here, we describe work on human embryonic germ cells (hEGCs), a population of cells alongside human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) with the potential to address these issues.
Turnpenny
Lee
L
Human Genetics Division, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
Cameron
Iain T
IT
Spalluto
Cosma M
CM
Hanley
Karen Piper
KP
Wilson
David I
DI
Hanley
Neil A
NA
D000818:Animals; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006066:Gonads / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*