摘要
Stem cells represent a promising step for the future of regenerative medicine. As they are able to differentiate into any cell type, tissue or organ, these cells are great candidates for treatments against the worst diseasesthat defy doctors and researchers around the world. Stem cells can be divided into three main groups:(1) embryonic stem cells;(2) fetal stem cells; and(3) adult stem cells. In terms of their capacity for proliferation, stem cells are also classified as totipotent, pluripotent or multipotent. Adult stem cells, also known as somatic cells, are found in various regions of the adult organism, such as bone marrow, skin, eyes, viscera and brain. They can differentiate into unipotent cells of the residing tissue, generally for the purpose of repair. These cells represent an excellent choice in regenerative medicine, every patient can be a donor of adult stem cells to provide a more customized and efficient therapy against various diseases, in other words, they allow the opportunity of autologous transplantation. But in order to start clinical trials and achieve great results, we need to understand how these cells interact with the host tissue, how they can manipulate or be manipulated by the microenvironment where they will be transplanted and for how long they can maintain their multipotent state to provide a full regeneration.
Stem cells represent a promising step for the future ofregenerative medicine. As they are able to differentiateinto any cell type, tissue or organ, these cells are greatcandidates for treatments against the worst diseasesthat defy doctors and researchers around the world.Stem cells can be divided into three main groups （1）embryonic stem cells; （2） fetal stem cells; and （3） adultstem cells. In terms of their capacity for proliferation,stem cells are also classified as totipotent, pluripotentor multipotent. Adult stem cells, also known as somaticcells, are found in various regions of the adult organism,such as bone marrow, skin, eyes, viscera and brain.They can differentiate into unipotent cells of theresiding tissue, generally for the purpose of repair.These cells represent an excellent choice in regenerativemedicine, every patient can be a donor of adult stemcells to provide a more customized and efficient therapyagainst various diseases, in other words, they allow theopportunity of autologous transplantation. But in orderto start clinical trials and achieve great results, we needto understand how these cells interact with the hosttissue, how they can manipulate or be manipulated bythe microenvironment where they will be transplantedand for how long they can maintain their multipotentstate to provide a full regeneration.
