Placental and pregnancy stem cells: everyone is, or should be, interested in the placenta.
The placenta is indeed a miraculous organ. Not only does it provide nutrition in the form of amino acids and glucose to the developing embryo and fetus in the form of amino acids and glucose, but it also acts as an organ of respiration providing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide. It is also an excretory organ. One of the most amazing things about the placenta is its role in stem cell physiology, a role which is only recently being studied and is presented in this issue of Stem Cell Reviews. The placenta may prove to be a noncontroversial source of hematapoetic stem cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as well amniotic epitherial (AE) stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells.
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Curtis L
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Kyle J
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D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002465:Cell Movement; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010920:Placenta / Q000166:cytology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology