Embryonic stem cells: a great hope for a new era of medicine
Tutter, A.V.; Baltus, G.A.; Kadam, S.
Current Opinion in Drug Discovery and Development 9(2): 169-175
2006
ISSN/ISBN: 1367-6733 PMID: 16566287 Document Number: 599965
Current stem-cell research has the potential to lead to new approaches for the treatment of cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as diabetes and cancer. Stem-cell-based approaches could be employed in cell-replacement therapy or in drug treatments that encourage adult stem cells to migrate and activate at a site of injury or disease. For such therapeutic approaches to be successful, a greater understanding of the signaling pathways that determine the diverse developmental fates of these cells is needed. From a drug-discovery perspective, efforts are being deployed in developing cell-based assays to screen for small molecules that can modulate stem-cell fate. Such compounds will provide new insights into stem-cell biology, and may ultimately contribute to effective disease treatments.