[Stem Cells Research]

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT2

DECLARATION3

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION6

Background of the Study6

Introduction to Stem Cells11

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW14

Various types of Stem Cells14

Embryonic Stem Cells15

What laboratory tests are used to identify embryonic stem cells?16

Adult Stem Cells18

Induced pluripotent stem cell20

Mesenchymal Stem Cells23

Characteristics23

Clinical Implication of MSC25

The anatomy of ocular surface25

Cornea26

Homeostasis of ocular surface27

Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells28

Function of LESC28

Mesenchymal cells from limbal stroma of human eye30

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY32

Research Design32

Literature Search32

Keywords33

Definition of Qualitative Research33

Research Method34

Literature Selection Criteria35

Search Technique35

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND RESULTS36

Stem cell research in orthopaedic and trauma surgery36

Stem cells37

Mesenchymal stem cells38

MSCs from bone marrow39

MSCs from other tissue40

Osteoblast differentiation from MSCs in bone marrow40

Clinical trials43

Clinical stem cell applications in the treatment of fractures44

Clinical stem cell research in osteonecrosis45

Cartilage injury46

Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI)49

Acquiring human embryos for stem-cell research50

The status of the embryo52

Surplus embryos from IVF54

Fresh embryos56

Embryos created for research57

Implications for women59

Totipotency, pluripotency and multipotency61

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION67

REFERENCES72

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

An extensive body of information has been accumulated over the years concerning the differentiation potential of mammalian embryonic stem cells. These cells became a focus of intense public interest when, in 1998, James Thomson and colleagues announced their successful derivation from human embryos. Embryonic stem cells, derived from the inner cell mass at the blastocyst stage of embryo development, are not totipotent, i.e., they cannot give rise to a living organism. However, they are pluripotent, that is, under restrictive conditions, they can be propagated indefinitely in an undifferentiated state, and they can also be induced to differentiate into a wide range of cells and tissues. The lines of such pluripotent cells that are currently available to researchers were derived from embryos unused after infertility treatments that would otherwise be destroyed.

Another potential source of human pluripotent stem cells are embryos generated via somatic cell nuclear transfer into denucleated oocytes. Once successfully grown to the blastocyst stage, such cloned embryos would be destroyed in order to derive embryonic stem cells that hold the potential for the development of cell replacement therapies. Any cloning through human somatic cell nuclear transfer, if successful, necessarily involves the creation of a living human embryo and for this reason the technique raises profound ethical and moral questions and is highly controversial. There is at present an overwhelming international consensus directed against human reproductive cloning aimed at creating groups of genetically identical individuals by uterine transfer of embryos generated by somatic cell nuclear transfer.

There is also a vigorous debate over the use of pluripotent stem cell lines from human embryos for research aimed at cell replacement therapy as possible avenues for conquering disease. Animal experiments provide very encouraging ...