Stem Cell Briefings, International Society for Stem Cell Research, October 2010

The groundbreaking discovery of human induced pluripotent stem cells has revolutionized the field of regenerative medicine, opening new avenues for research and for future clinical applications.

These cells share many features with embryonic stem cells (ESCs), including the ability to turn into virtually any cell type, but unlike their ESC counterparts, are obtained by reprogramming adult cells from an individual, avoiding the difficulties and ethical issues of sourcing and using embryos.

Unsurprisingly, human iPSCs have become a topic of interest for those interested in modeling diseases, and are also used as an argument by those opposed to using human ESCs for ethical or religious reasons.

If the two types of cells were the same, then pursuing research on cell lines that are obtained from human embryos could possibly be avoided.

While it is true that there are striking similarities between human iPSCs and ESCs, a workshop in Lisbon reviewed a number of scientific studies that unveil subtle but fundamental differences between the two types of cells.

The results of these studies have led many in the stem cell research community to conclude that human iPSCs  are not ready to fully replace their embryonic counterparts.

READ FULL STORY AT

http://www.isscr.org/public/briefings/human_embryonic_stem_cells.html