Alternative cell source types

If cryopreservation is now a routine technology transferable for application, at least for sperm, quality tests for cell diffusion are still to be determined. Tests should be favored which aim to assess the genetic conformity of the offspring obtained. When considering alternative cell sources, cryopreservation of somatic cells, cultured cells, blastomeres, PGCs, or SSCs does not appear technically challenging. However, these cell types differ in their accessibility and in the complexity of the reconstruction technology they require (Table 3.2)... 

The development of a functional TEVG is likely to require the constmction of an intima and media composed of endothelial and smooth muscle cells. Limitations imposed by immunogenicity will probably require that autologous cells be used, so the majority of studies to date have used differentiated smooth muscle and endothelial cells isolated from harvested blood vessels. But problems with donor-site morbidity and the performance of these cell types in engineered tissues have led to the consideration of alternative cell sources. Recent advances in stem cell biology may lead to suitable progenitors that can be effectively differentiated into endothelial and smooth muscle cells for use in vascular tissue engineering. 

Transplant with umbilical cord blood (UCB) offers an alternative stem cell source to patients who do not have an acceptable matched related or unrelated donor. When allogeneic hematopoietic cells are obtained from UCB, the cord blood is obtained from a consenting donor in the delivery room after birth and delivery of the placenta.32 The cord blood then is processed, a sample is sent for HLA typing, and the cord blood... 

Stem cells isolated from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) have been identified as a novel population of MSC family. SHED have the same capacity as bone marrow-derived MSCs to differentiate into multiple cell types, including osteoblasts and odontoblasts, and to generate bone or dentin-pulp complex tissue (Miiua et al., 2003 Cordeiro et al., 2008 Yamada et al., 2010). However, osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation of SHED and bone marrow-derived MSCs is regulated by different mechanisms, and SHED can have a stronger tendency to be induced into odontoblasts than bone marrow-derived MSCs (Kara et al., 2011). Most importantly, SHED show very strong proliferative abilities and can be obtained from deciduous teeth without any ethical concern, which may provide a useful cell source as an alternative to bone marrow-derived MSCs for mineralized tissue formation. 

---