Long Live the Stem Cell: The Use of Stem Cells Isolated from Post Mortem Tissues for Translational Strategies.

Long Live the Stem Cell: The Use of Stem Cells Isolated from Post Mortem Tissues for Translational Strategies. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2014 Oct 6; Authors: Hodgetts S, Stagg K, Sturm M, Edel M, Blancafort P Abstract The "stem cell" has become arguably one of the most important biological tools in the arsenal of translational research directed at regeneration and repair. It remains to be seen whether every tissue has its own stem cell niche, although relatively recently a large amount of research has focused on isolating and characterizing tissue-specific stem cell populations, as well as those that are able to be directed to transdifferentiate into a variety of different lineages. Traditionally, stem cells are isolated from the viable tissue of embryonic, fetal, or adult living hosts; from "fresh" donated tissues that have been surgically or otherwise removed (biopsies), or obtained directly from tissues within minutes to several hours post mortem (PM). These human progenitor/stem cell sources remain potentially highly controversial, since they are accompanied by various still-unresolved ethical, social, moral and legal challenges. Due to the limited number of "live" donors, the small amount of material obtained from biopsies and difficulties during purification processes, harvesting from cadaveric material presents itself as an alternative strategy that could provide a hitherto untapped source of stem cells. However, PM stem cells ...
Source: The International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Int J Biochem Cell Biol Source Type: research