Stem cell transplantation (SCT) has achieved significant therapeutic success over the last 10 years, providing a viable treatment option for many previously incurable diseases. However, several inherent limitations of the procedure have restricted its widespread use. These include: lack of sufficient donors for all recipients, a period of bone marrow (BM) aplasia leading to severe, prolonged neutropenia and thrombocytopenia, and the potential for tumor contamination in autologous SCT. Continued research efforts to address these limitation are needed. Recent studies suggest that cord blood transplantation may help eliminate the issue of donor availability and some post-transplant complications.
Epithelial Stem Cell
Almost all the epithelial tissues contain stem cell, it is fairly difficult to cover all the fields concerning such a subject, for its complexity and the insufficient material.
I wish the following review came from Science could compensate my ignorance
SC & Gene Therapy
The success of whole marrow transplantation for the correction of several genetic disorders has focused attention on the hematopoietic stem cell as a target for gene therapy for the correction of several genetic disorders of hematopoiesis and metabolism. Precisely how to manipulate the stem cell to achieve efficient gene transfer without compromising the functional potential required for long-term hematopoiesis remains a critical area of research. Studies have demonstrated that retroviral-mediated gene transfer into HSCs is feasible and safe. However, currently available HSC gene-transfer protocols do not reliably transfer genes into HSCs with long-term repopulating capacity. A greater understanding of the basic biology of retroviruses and hematopoiesis will enhance the development of more advanced and efficient HSC retroviral vector delivery systems. Successful HSC gene transfer approaches will need to develop methods of targeting nondividing HSCs and/or stimulating HSCs to proliferate prior to transduction. New generation of vectors may permit the inclusion of larger genes, transcriptional regulatory units, tissue specific expression, and multiple genes and allow the insertion of viral genes into site-specific genomic locations.
