Human
pluripotent stem cells are a type of cell that is self-replicating. In simple
terms, they clone themselves. These are typically derived from human embryos
and have the possibility to grow into virtually any type of cell in the body.
The first type of pluripotent stem cells were embryonic stem cells (ESC).
Unfortunately, there are moral issues associated with these, since their
creation involves the destruction of a human embryo. This said, a new type of
pluripotent stem cell has been pioneered. These come from unfertilized eggs
being “tricked” into developing as embryos without being fertilized. These stem
cells do not involve destroying an embryo, and therefore avoid the associated
moral issues. These new stem cells are called human parthenogenetic stem cells
(hPSC).
Human
parthenogenetic stem cells not only erase the moral issues associated with ESC,
they also maintain many of the advantages. Some of these advantages include
immune matching, pluripotency, proliferation, genetic reprogramming, and the
ability to use stem cells to cure genetic diseases. Pluripotency is when the
stem cells can change into the full range of specialized stem cell types, while
immune matching is when cells derived from stem cells match other patients to
avoid rejection problems. Proliferation is when the stem cells easily expand,
and genetic reprogramming is whether or not the source of the stem cells have
been modified by external factors.
International
Stem Cell Corp. (OTCQB: ISCO) is a biotechnological company that started
developing this new type of stem cell derived from unfertilized eggs in order
to help treat severe diseases of the nervous system, liver and eyes. Some of
the diseases that are in the process of being treated by this new line of stem
cells include Parkinson’s disease, ischemic strokes, metabolic liver diseases,
retinal blindness, and corneal blindness, among others. After showing
significant results in earlier therapies, ISCO has progressed to Phase I
clinical trials for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
For
more information, visit www.internationalstemcell.com
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