Stem cell translational medicine: a bridgeable gap between basic science and clinical application

Stem cell therapy has introduced promising hope for the treatment of various diseases. On the other hand, clinical utilization of the stem cells needs to translate basic sciences and protocols before starting clinical phases by bridging stem cell research into clinical trials. Therefore, stem cells translational medicine will open a new horizon in this area of research and practice. Accordingly, there are several risk factors relevant to safety issues of stem cell preparation and transplantation that must be considered in translational phase. For instance; transplantation site reactions, immune responses, biodistribution, ectopic grafting, unintended differentiation into another cell type, tumorigenicity, and lack of functional characteristics. In summary, to conduct clinical stem cell transplantation trials, the safety concerns must be carefully weighed against the potential benefits and all preclinical and clinical researches must be designed to elucidate potential safety concerns before translating from the bench to the bedside.

Keywords:

Cell therapy , Regenerative medicine , Safety , Stem cells , Translational medicine