Gastroenterology and Liver

Stem Call treatment

Stem cells therapies represent a new field of biomedical science which could provide in the future the cure for diseases until now incurable. Many gastrointestinal diseases are a major reason for the increased mortality rate of children and adults every year. However, intestinal transplantation is still accompanied by many challenges, including immune rejection and donor availability, which may limit the transplant's success. The development of more safe and promising alternative treatments for intestinal diseases is still ongoing. Stem cell-based therapy (SCT) and tissue engineering (TE) appear to be the next promising choices for the regeneration of the damaged intestine. However, suitable stem cell source is required for the SCT and TE process. Thus, in this review we discuss how intestinal stem cells (ISCs) are a promising cell source for small intestine diseases.

Here, we report on the issues discussed, including liver and intestinal diseases that may benefit from stem cell therapy, the biology of hepatic and intestinal tissue repair, and stem cell usage in clinical trials.