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1500L
Stem Cells
Date: 2023
From: Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection
Publisher: Gale, part of Cengage Group
Document Type: Topic overview
Length: 1,918 words
Content Level: (Level 5)
Lexile Measure: 1500L
Full Text:
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that hold the potential to grow into a variety of specific and differentiated cell types. For instance,
certain stem cells can evolve into skin cells, muscle cells, bone cells, blood cells, brain cells, or virtually any other type of specialized
bodily cell.
In addition to being undifferentiated, stem cells also have self-renewal capabilities via the cell division process, which can occur even
if the cells have been dormant for a long period of time. Under some conditions, stem cells can also be prompted to evolve into highly
specialized cell types that perform very specific functions in bodily organs and tissues. Due to these two unique capabilities, stem
cells have the potential to prevent and treat a host of medical conditions.
Though stem cells could hold the key to many major medical breakthroughs, they remain a controversial and tightly regulated area of
research. During his presidency, George W. Bush introduced strict funding and research limits to control the types of stems cells and
scope of medical research into potential stem cell applications in order to address ethical concerns over the use of embryonic stem
cells. President Barack Obama repealed these federal funding limitations in 2009, but subsequent legal challenges introduced debate
about ambiguities regarding the use of embryonic stem cells in medical research. The Dickey-Wicker Amendment, attached to a 1995
federal appropriations bill, prohibits the creation or destruction of an embryo for stem cell research purposes and remained in effect
as of 2023.
Main Ideas
Stem cells differ from other cells in the body because they can divide and renew themselves over long periods of time. They
are unspecialized but have the potential to become specialized cell types. The three types of stem cells are embryonic stem
cells, adult stem cells, and perinatal stem cells.
Researchers and medical doctors have engaged in a variety of projects investigating a wide range of possible
pharmaceutical and clinical applications of stem cells and stem cell therapies.
Stem cells' unique properties make them well-suited for treating spinal cord injuries, chronic pain, orthopedic diseases,
diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, blood disorders, sensory loss, degenerative diseases, and certain cancer treatments.
Stem cells have many potential applications in regenerative medicine, an emerging field that aims to restore functionality to
damaged, diseased, or aging tissues and organs.
Ethical concerns remain regarding the research, development, and commercialization of stem cell technologies. One
controversial issue is therapeutic cloning, which is the artificial cloning of human embryos for the purposes of harvesting
stem cells for experimental research.
Some stem cell–related therapies are already available but not approved for commercial use. Additional therapies on the
market have not been proven to offer their purported benefits.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautions consumers to use only those stem cell therapies that have obtained
FDA approval or are in the advanced stages of FDA-approved clinical trials.
Noting an overall lack of transparency regarding stem cell research activities and clinical practices, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has called for increased regulation of the global stem cell research industry because very few therapies
have been proven effective.
Stem Cell Types
Stem cells are categorized into two major subtypes: embryonic stem cells, which form in embryos during a developmental stage
known as the blastocyst phase, and adult stem cells or somatic stem cells, which can be found throughout the human body after the
embryonic cell development process is complete. A third subtype, perinatal stem cells, includes prenatal stem cells, obtained from
either a fetus or supporting structures, such as umbilical cord blood, and postnatal stem cells, acquired from a baby shortly after birth.
Stem cells can be further grouped into four different classes: totipotent cells, which evolve into the cells that comprise the entire body
of an embryo or fetus; multipotent cells, which can grow into multiple differentiated cell types within a certain organ or bodily system,
such as bone marrow, skin, or blood; pluripotent cells with the potential to grow into any specific type of differentiated cell found in the
human body; and unipotent cells, which are stem cells that can develop into only one specialized type of mature cell. Another type of
stem cell, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), are adult stem cells that have been genetically altered to return to a state similar to
that of an embryonic stem cell. IPSCs are already widely used in pharmaceutical and disease modeling research, with potential future
applications in creating patient-specific and immune-matched organs for transplant.
Applications and Therapies
Stem cells have many potential applications in regenerative medicine, an emerging field that aims to restore the original functionality
of bodily tissues and organ systems that have been damaged or destroyed by injury, disease, or aging. Because certain types of
stem cells can grow into practically any other type of differentiated cell, they could one day be used to create engineered, lab-grown
replacements for damaged tissues and organs using the patient's own cells. This prospect holds the potential to greatly reduce or
even eliminate the need for donor tissues and organs while eliminating the risks associated with the possible bodily rejection of
donated components.
The unique physical properties of stem cells make them well-suited for potential applications in the treatment of spinal cord injuries,
chronic pain, orthopedic diseases and injuries, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and conditions, burns, sensory loss, and certain
cancer treatments. Stem cell transplants are already used in cancer therapies that aim to replenish blood-producing cells in patients
whose existing blood manufacturing capabilities have been compromised as the result of radiation treatments or chemotherapy.
Cord blood banking has emerged as a key source of prenatal stem cells. This technique involves the collection and storage of the
blood found in a newborn baby's umbilical cord, which contains dense concentrations of stem cells. The cord blood is then banked in
a public or private storage facility; public banks offer cord blood donations to researchers and anyone else with a medical need for
them, while private banks store the blood for the exclusive use of the donor, their family members, and other authorized individuals.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducts numerous stem cell studies and initiatives, including a regenerative medicine
research program; iPSC production laboratories; stem cell libraries and gene collection programs; and the NIH Stem Cell Unit, which
establishes standards, monitors cell lines, and maintains a database of embryonic and adult stem cells, along with iPSCs. The NIH
also supports research for stem cell treatments of macular degeneration that can lead to blindness, along with numerous other
programs designed to investigate emerging applications and breakthrough medical technologies. Examples of promising emergent
stem cell therapies include potentially effective new treatments for arthritis, brain cancer, heart failure, and degenerative conditions
such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Stem cells can also be used to create specific tissues in order to test experimental drugs
without live subjects.
Ethical Concerns
Though stem cell research could lead to many medical breakthroughs, the discipline is also controversial and fraught with ethical
concerns. One such controversy involves therapeutic cloning, which is the artificial replication of human embryos for the purposes of
harvesting their stem cells for experimental research. Therapeutic cloning involves the artificial generation of human embryos that are
genetically identical to living or deceased individuals. While therapeutic cloning technology already exists, as of 2023, it had not been
used on humans, but had only been used to clone animals for research purposes.
Stem cell research also has many potential applications in human reproduction, with researchers recently making breakthrough
advancements using a technique known as in vitro gametogenesis (IVG). Theoretically, IVG would enable scientists to create human
ova or fetuses using only skin or blood cells collected from parent donors. While it could provide a new solution to infertility and allow
same-sex couples to have children that are biologically related to both partners, it also introduces many ethically dubious or
undesirable possibilities. Skin cells could be surreptitiously collected from unwitting or unwilling donors, making it possible for people
to have biological children with another person against their will, without sexual contact. IVG would also make it theoretically possible
for more than two people to parent a child.
The use of stem cell technologies to genetically modify and engineer embryos to have certain desirable biological traits has sparked
similar ethical concerns to those expressed in response to other types of "designer babies," such as those produced through the
selection of embryos prior to implantation during in vitro fertilization. Some fear that such capabilities could one day lead to over-
pursuit of socially desirable genetic traits such as intelligence, strength, or aesthetic beauty to the detriment of people without those
traits. Though such concerns are widespread among both scientists and the general public, proponents point out that gene editing
technologies could be closely regulated and used only according to established ethical guidelines. Such regulation, they contend,
would allow for beneficial applications while preventing misuse.
Critical Thinking Questions
What are the different ways in which stem cells can be obtained, and do you think the government should restrict which
methods can be used?
What potential uses of stem cells do you think pose the greatest potential benefit to society? What potential uses do you
think pose the greatest risk of harm? Explain your answer.
In your opinion, what obstacles have prevented the international community from establishing a universal regulatory
framework for stem cell research and application?
Safety and Regulation
In 2009, following President Obama's executive order targeting barriers to stem cell research, the NIH issued guidelines for the
practice and established the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry. The registry lists the human embryonic stem cell lines that can be
used in federally funded studies. As of August 2023, the registry listed over five hundred eligible lines and sixty-nine lines whose
approval had been denied.
Many stem cell–related therapies and treatments are already available, but the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other
regulatory agencies warn consumers that some are not approved for commercial use, while others have not been scientifically proven
to offer their purported benefits. The FDA cautions consumers to use only those stem cell therapies that are in the advanced stages
of FDA-approved clinical trials or that the agency has already approved. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA stressed that it
had approved no stem cell products to treat the disease, though such treatments were offered in other countries. As of 2023 the FDA
had only approved stem cell products derived from umbilical cord blood and only for use in treatment of specific blood disorders.
Following several high-profile cases in which consumers were harmed by unapproved commercial stem cell treatments, the FDA has
come under increased pressure to take meaningful action against researchers and companies engaging in untested and unapproved
therapies. The FDA regularly issues warning letters to businesses advertising or offering stem cell–related therapies that it has not
officially approved. Experts have also warned about so-called stem cell tourism, in which patients travel to destinations specifically to
obtain potentially dangerous, ineffective, or fraudulent stem cell therapies that are prohibited in their own country of residence.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for increased regulation of the global stem cell research industry. According to the
WHO, relatively few stem cell therapies have been proven effective, and the overall lack of transparency as well as the absence of
universal regulatory standards constitutes a public health risk. The WHO further contends that the current nonexistence of an
effective universal regulatory framework makes it possible for operators to conduct potentially unethical or harmful research without
oversight.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2024 Gale, part of Cengage Group
Source Citation (MLA 9th Edition)
"Stem Cells." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2023. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link-gale-
[Link]/apps/doc/PC3010999132/OVIC?u=nysl_me_swboces&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=8a6ab0c4. Accessed 1
Feb. 2024.
Gale Document Number: GALE|PC3010999132
