Okay, here are a few that spring to mind:
- Can embryonic stem (ES) cells be used in cellular therapy without stimulating a cancer-like growth?
- Do ES cells need to be “slightly” differentiated into progenitor cells or transit amplifying cells before implantation?
- Other than haematopoietic stem cells (which are easily isolated from bone marrow), are there any other type of stem cell that can be easily and routinely isolated from a human patient? If yes, are they candidates for any sort of cellular therapy?
- Only specific areas of the CNS are subject to ongoing neurogenesis in an adult (eg. subventricular zone, hippocampus, olfactory bulb). Even if we can somehow isolate neural stem cells from a patient, or if we can implant ES cells (or derivatives) into the CNS of a patient, will implantation into a CNS area outside of those areas known for ongoing adult neurogenesis produce any proliferation by the transplanted stem cells?
- What has been achieved in the area of re-differentiating lineage-restricted stem cells into another lineage? For example, when will we be able to put haematopoietic stem cells into the brain of a patient in order to treat a neurodegenerative disease?
And here is a question from probably the hottest area in stem cell biology at the moment.
- What is the current consensus opinion on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells? (ie. somatic cells that have had the expression of key genes altered such that they revert to an ES cell-like state.) Are they likely to match the potential of ES cells in cellular therapy, thus removing the need to destroy any embryos?
If you can find the time, I'd love to hear what your visiting expert has to say about these questions.
