Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on July 8, 2005
Human Reproduction 2005 20(11):2987-2989; doi:10.1093/humrep/dei197
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OPINION |
Human embryonic stem cell lines are contaminated: what should we do?
1 In Vitro Fertilization Laboratory, Tomball Regional Hospital, TX 77375, USA and 2 Institute of Obstetrics and Gyncology, Guangzhou Second Peoples Hospital, Guangzhou, China
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wangweihua11{at}yahoo.com
Human embryonic stem (hES) cells have the potential to differentiate into any desired cells and to be used in cell replacement therapies for some diseases. However, existing hES cell lines would not be suitable for the therapies as they are contaminated with other biological products. In order to produce the safest hES cell lines for therapeutic purposes, all steps for the establishment of hES cell lines must avoid the use of animal serum and/or animal feeder cell lines. Safe and fast approaches to producing hES cell lines based on recent research advances in both humans and animals have been suggested.
Key words: contamination/embryonic stem cells/human/IVF/safety