Advantages and disadvantages of adult and embryonic stem cells.
. | Advantages . | Disadvantages . |
---|---|---|
Human ES cells | Can make virtually any tissue (in theory) | Allogeneic only (currently) |
Some tissues “easy” to generate (e.g., cardiac) | Teratoma formation? | |
Can be propagated indefinitely | Differentiation conditions to be established | |
Amenable to genetic manipulation? | Some tissues difficult to generate (blood) | |
Ethical issues | ||
Adult stem cells | Autologous | Most have limited self-renewal |
Many types and sources | Differentiation outside lineage? (maybe) | |
Some types have extensive self-renewal potential | Autologous (use more cumbersome and expensive) | |
Not tumorigenic | ||
Default differentiation | ||
Amenable to gene transfer | ||
Potential delivery methods attractive | ||
No ethical issues |
. | Advantages . | Disadvantages . |
---|---|---|
Human ES cells | Can make virtually any tissue (in theory) | Allogeneic only (currently) |
Some tissues “easy” to generate (e.g., cardiac) | Teratoma formation? | |
Can be propagated indefinitely | Differentiation conditions to be established | |
Amenable to genetic manipulation? | Some tissues difficult to generate (blood) | |
Ethical issues | ||
Adult stem cells | Autologous | Most have limited self-renewal |
Many types and sources | Differentiation outside lineage? (maybe) | |
Some types have extensive self-renewal potential | Autologous (use more cumbersome and expensive) | |
Not tumorigenic | ||
Default differentiation | ||
Amenable to gene transfer | ||
Potential delivery methods attractive | ||
No ethical issues |