Nanotechnology Platform Could Improve Stem Cell Transplantation?
Stem cells can grow into many non-identical kinds of cells, including neurons that transmit information within the brain. Adult human-induced pluripotent stem cells, which resemble embryonic stem cells , are often used to develop drugs and model diseases. While stem cells hold great potential for treating neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system injuries, controlling and characterizing their fate are critical issues that need to be addressed before their potential use as treatments is often fully realized. Current methods for characterizing stem cell biomarkers destroy cellular activities and functions, which makes it difficult to conduct more definitive research that might cause biomedical applications. Using their nanotechnology platform, the scientists successfully monitored the generation of neurons from human stem cells by characterizing next-generation biomarkers called exosomes—tiny particles released by cells that play a critical role in cell-to-cel...