The derivation of human embryonic stem cells 10 years ago ignited an explosion of public interest in stem cells, yet this achievement depended on prior decades of research on mouse embryonic carcinoma cells and embryonic stem cells. In turn, the recent derivation of mouse and human induced pluripotent stem cells depended on the prior studies on mouse and human embryonic stem cells. Both human e...

There is great interest worldwide in discovering and developing a permanent source of tissues which would be capable of generating any cell type and which would avoid the problem of transplant rejection. Stem cells are cells that can specialize into the many different cells found in the human body. The ethical objections concerning stem cells have focused primarily on their source. Human embry...

It has been proposed that human embryonic stem cells could be used to provide an inexhaustible supply of differentiated cell types for the study of disease processes. Although methods for differentiating embryonic stem cells into specific cell types have become increasingly sophisticated, the utility of the resulting cells for modeling disease has not been determined. We have asked whether spec...

The stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA4) is commonly used as a cell surface marker to identify the pluripotent human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Immunohistochemistry on human embryonic central nervous system revealed that SSEA4 is detectable in the early neuroepithelium, and its expression decreases as development proceeds. Flow cytometry analysis of forebrain-derived cells demonstrated th...

The embryonic stem cell-like gene expression signature has been shown to be associated with poorly differentiated aggressive human tumors and has attracted great attention as a potential target for future cancer therapies. Here, we investigate the potential of the embryonic stem cell signature as molecular target for the therapy and the strategy to suppress the embryonic stem cell signature. Th...

background dox is a powerful chemotherapeutic agent used in the treatment of solid tumors and malignant hematological diseases. however, its cardiac toxicity limits the clinical usefulness of this drug. previous reports have shown corticosteroids induce a cytoprotective effect on cardiomyocytes. mouse transgenic embryonic stem cell-derived pure cardiomyocytes may be considered as a model for as...

There are few reliable experimental systems available to study the molecular mechanisms that govern human embryonic development. Embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from teratocarcinomas and are considered the malignant counterparts of human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Several of the existing human EC stem cell lines provide robust and simple culture systems to stud...

Recent actions by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) involving human embryonic stem cell research have rekindled debate over the difficult ethical and social issues surrounding embryo and fetal tissue research. Embryonic stem cells, which have the ability to develop into virtually any cell in the body, may have the potential to treat me...