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Placenta-derived stem cells: new hope for cell therapy?

  • Special Issue Stem Cells
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Abstract

An urgent current need in regenerative medicine is that of identifying a plentiful, safe and ethically acceptable stem cell source for the development of therapeutic strategies to restore functionality in damaged or diseased organs and tissues. In this context, human term placenta represents a prime candidate, as it is available in nearly unlimited supply, is ethically problem-free and easily procured. Placental cells display differentiation capacity toward all three germ layers, while also displaying immunomodulatory effects, therefore supporting the possibility that they could be applied in an allogeneic transplantation setting. Although promising data have been reported to date, further study is required to fully characterize the differentiation potential of placenta-derived cells and to identify their possible clinical applications. Here, we provide a snapshot of current knowledge regarding the potential of cells from the amniotic membrane of human term placenta to address current shortcomings in the field of regenerative medicine.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank Fondazione Cariplo for providing continuous and generous financial support for research into placenta-derived stem cells at Centro di Ricerca E. Menni, Brescia, Italy.

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  1. Centro di Ricerca E. Menni, Fondazione Poliambulanza – Istituto Ospedaliero, Via Bissolati, 57, 25124, Brescia, Italy

    Marco Evangelista, Maddalena Soncini & Ornella Parolini

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  1. Marco Evangelista
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  2. Maddalena Soncini
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Correspondence to Ornella Parolini.

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Evangelista, M., Soncini, M. & Parolini, O. Placenta-derived stem cells: new hope for cell therapy?. Cytotechnology 58, 33–42 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10616-008-9162-z

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