Stem Cell Sources and Their Potential for the Treatment of Retinal Degenerations.
Stem cells offer unprecedented opportunities for the development of strategies geared toward the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases. A variety of cellular sources have been investigated for various potential clinical applications, including tissue regeneration, disease modeling, and screening for non-cell-based therapeutic agents. As the field transitions from more than a decade of preclinical research to the first phase I/II clinical trials, we provide a concise overview of the stem cell sources most commonly used, weighing their therapeutic potential on the basis of their technical strengths/limitations, their ethical implications, and the extent of the progress achieved to date. This article serves as a framework for further in-depth analyses presented in the following chapters of this Special Issue.
Valeria
V
Canto-Soler
Miguel
M
Flores-Bellver
M Natalia
MN
Vergara
D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D063928:Ependymoglial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D053686:Fetal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000601:surgery*; D055213:Retinal Pigment Epithelium / Q000166:cytology; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology