191cells is part of ex vivo gene therapy. The cells may be introduced by various routes
into the body and selectively implanted at the site of action. Cell therapy is described
in detail in a special report (Jain 2015a ).
Autologous Tissue and Cell Transplants
The term transplantation, used mostly for organ transplants in the past, is now also
used for cells transplanted from one individual to another. Cells can be used to
restore lost functions of organ, i.e. organ repair instead of organ replacement.
Problems associated with transplantation include organ rejection requiring immu-
nosuppressive therapy. Problems of rejection of grafted cells can be solved by using
the patient’s own cells (autologous) and encapsulating cells from other sources.
Stem Cells
Stem cells are cells in the embryo and the adult human body that retain the capabil-
ity of making a range of other cell types. In the embryo, these cells are the starting
point for the development of the complete human being. In the adult, stem cells are
one of the resources for repair and renewal of cells/tissues and may be used for
personalized therapy. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are continuously growing cell
lines of embryonic origin derived from the pluripotent cells of the inner cell mass or
epiblast of the mammalian embryo. They may give rise to any cell type but not to an
independent organism. Adult stem cells of the individual patient are more suitable
for personalized therapy. Availability of technologies to derive induced pluripotent
stem cells (iPSCs) from adult somatic cells will enhance the potential of personal-
ized cell-based therapy.
Induced Pluripotential Stem Cells for Personalized Cell Therapy
Induced pluripotential stem cell (iPSC) technology has raised hopes of treating
various human diseases that were previously considered untreatable and enabled
personalized medicine without ethical issues and immunological rejection that may
occur with human ESC (hESC) transplantation. iPSCs enable disease modeling
that mimics human pathological processes rather than tests using conventional ani-
mal models and cell lines. It is possible to routinely generate iPSC from patient-
specifi c cell sources, such as skin fi broblast, hair follicle cells, and blood samples.
iPSCs resemble hESCs for their ability to regenerate tissue and even a full organ-
ism. iPSC provide a better choice for cell-based therapy. Tissue memory containing
iPSC from mature leukocytes may be benefi cial for curing cancer and infectious
diseases (Kim 2014 ).
Cell Therapy