A role for the host in the roadmap to diabetes stem cell therapy

Abstract

Stem cells represent an unlimited source for cell therapy (1), and considerable efforts have been made to overcome barriers to introducing this revolutionary therapy into clinical practice. Briefly, the following actions must be taken: 1) design in vitro differentiation strategies to generate either mature postmitotic b-cells or b-cell progenitors that may be safely implanted into the host (e.g., without uncontrolled proliferation), 2) devise selection methods to produce a pure b-cell population, 3) validate standard characterization protocols to determine the real differentiation stage of the cells ready to be transplanted, 4) obtain encapsulation devices to implant the cells, 5) develop preclinical controls in representative animal models, and 6) de fine cell-host interactions (for a recent review see ref. 2)