Embryonic stem cell grafting: the therapy of the future?

Abstract

The grafting of mouse embryonic haemopoietic cells into deficient recipients is discussed. Donor cells can be obtained from post-implantation mouse embryos in vivo and used to treat X-irradiated or genetically anaemic recipients. The concept of grafting embryonic haemopoietic cells into normal, untreated recipients is also described. Preimplantation mouse blastocysts grown in vitro for 3-4 days can also be used as a source of donor cells. The haematological and immunological aspects of embryonic cell grafting are discussed, followed by a description of current xenotransplantation experiments, including rat into mouse and human into mouse. The review concludes with a discussion of the application of embryonic cell grafting to other tissues and a look into the possible future of this technique.

Stem cells: potency, plasticity and public perception*

“…He reported functional colonization of the haematopoietic system of adult mice with cells from early post‐implantation mouse conceptuses or even blastocysts, regardless of whether they had been lethally irradiated (Hollands, 1987, 1988a, 1988b). He also found that such grafts could cure genetically anaemic mice (Hollands, 1988c), and worked xenogeneically between rat and mouse (reviewed in Hollands, 1991). In initial experiments, the donor material consisted of entire early post‐implantation stages within intact decidual tissue which is known to include cells originating from maternal bone marrow (Lysiak & Lala, 1992).…”