Células tronco

7

The importance of the use of stem cells for public health

Lygia da Veiga Pereira 1

1

Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva,
Instituto de Biociências,
USP. Rua do Matão 277/
350, Cidade Universitária.
05508-900 São Paulo SP. [e-mail] Abstract Stem cells were elected ‘Breakthrough of the Year’ by Science1 magazine in 1999, having shown that stem cells from adult tissues retained the ability to differentiate into other tissue types.
During the previous year, the first human embryo stem cell lines were established. Since then, the number of scientific papers on stem cells has been increasing exponentially, establishing new paradigms that are rapidly challenged by subsequent experiments. This paper reviews the stem cell research field, divided into two groups: embryo and adult stem cells. While the differentiation potential of the former is well characterized in mice and humans, their use in cell therapy and research has been hampered by histocompatibility, safety and ethical issues. In contrast, adult stem cells do not present these problems. However, the extent of their plasticity is still under investigation. Nevertheless, numerous clinical trials in humans are under way, mainly with stem cells derived from bone marrow. This paper discusses discuss the importance of working with both classes of human stem cells in order to fulfill the promise of stem cell therapies.
Key words Stem cells, Cell therapy, Embryogenesis, Differentiation

Resumo Em 1999, as células-tronco foram eleitas “Scientific Breakthrough of the Year” (avanço científico do ano) pela revista Science1. Naquele ano, foi demonstrado que células-tronco de tecidos adultos mantinham a capacidade de se diferenciar em outros tipos de tecidos. No ano anterior, as primeiras linhagens de células-tronco embrionárias humanas foram estabelecidas.
Desde então, o número de artigos científicos sobre células-tronco vem crescendo exponencialmente, onde novos