The pharmacological drugs for disease treatment often provide relief from the symptoms. They aim to delay the progression of the disease but cannot reverse the damage and correct the underlying pathways that lead to the disease or disorder. This field always resorts to organ transplantation at the last stage, which suffers from donor shortage. However, regenerative medicine focuses on the restoration process, thus addressing the lacuna of routine medications. The Applications of Stem Cells in this field have been promising. 

Regenerative Medicine

As the name suggests, regenerative medicine emphasizes the regeneration of the damage to a tissue due to injury or illness. It might seem like just the field of life sciences, but it also integrates material science, chemistry, and applied mathematics, transforming it into an interdisciplinary field. It has been particularly beneficial for disorders which require tissue repair or replacement. Stem cell applications have considerably advanced the field and are used almost synonymously with regenerative medicine.

Types of Stem Cells

These are two stem cell characteristics that have drawn the interest of the scientific community.

• Self-renewal: They can replicate many times.
• Differentiation: They can form different types of cells.

These properties are unique and extraordinary because normal body cells present in tissues like skin, nerves, muscles, etc., lose their replication capabilities and cannot differentiate. Based on the differentiation potential, the potency is defined, which classifies the Types of Stem Cells as:

• Unipotent: Unipotency defines the ability to differentiate into only one type of cell. For example, stem cells of the liver can only form liver cells.
• Oligopotent: These are generally progenitors that develop into a few cell types—for example, myeloid progenitors, which form innate immune cells.
• Multipotent: They can transform into a particular lineage cell. For example, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) form all the erythrocytes, platelets, and leukocytes.
• Pluripotent: They can form almost all types of cells in the body. For example, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) found in the embryo at the blastocyst stage.
• Totipotent: They can create all cell types of the body. For example, fertilized eggs up to a few cell divisions are totipotent.

Applications of Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine

The stem cell potential has prompted their application in organ regeneration. The frequently employed stem cells are HSCs, ESCs, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), tissue progenitors, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Cell-based therapy represents the use of cells as therapeutics rather than only drugs or cellular products. It has become the most common application in regenerative medicine, also referred to as tissue engineering. It replaces diseased, defective, or degenerated tissue with the stem cell infusion.

• Neurological Disorders: The burden of such disorders has been on the rise, including autism, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s’, sclerosis, etc. MSC administration showed improved functioning and absence of any side effects.
• Lung Disorders: These conditions necessitate a regenerative approach because due to the complex mechanisms of inflammation and cell degradation. MSCs have shown promising results in early therapeutic trials due to their immunomodulatory properties. 
• Bone-related disorders: These include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, which manifests as an inability to walk or move the damaged joint. Studies have exhibited an increase in the ability to walk after MSC treatment.
• Diabetes Treatment: The infusion of MSCs has shown normal glucose levels in diabetic patients and a reduction in insulin dependency.
• Eye Disorders: MSCs produce factors that protect nerve cells with the potential of visual restoration in several eye disorders.
• Fertility Disorders: MSCs have improved tissue functions through their immune regulation and anti-inflammation properties.

Future Prospects of Stem Cell Therapy

Organ Engineering: Cell culturing in a three-dimensional environment has become popular nowadays for its resemblance to the tissue microenvironment. This technique has also paved the way for growing new tissues and even organs in the laboratory. The synthesis of scaffolds, the evolution of bioprinting, and the advent of microfluidics have successfully created preliminary tissues like organoids and spheroids, as well as whole organs. Stem cell differentiation has been pivotal in generating a tissue or organ. Such models serve as optimal replacement options for individuals seeking organ transplants. Additionally, they also enhance the understanding of the developmental mechanism of organs.

Cell-free Therapy: Stem cell therapy has certain risks, such as the rejection by the immune system. In view of this, an innovative treatment has emerged- exosomes. These are tiny microscopic vesicles that cells secrete to communicate with their cellular neighbours. They pack the exosomes with specific different biomolecules, essentially transferring their attributes into the vesicles. Exosomes derived from MSCs possess antioxidant, immune regulation, anti-inflammation, and regenerative properties. They cannot differentiate but can drive repair and recovery processes in a cell-free manner. Thus, they are devoid of the unwanted risks of MSCs and gaining more traction for therapeutic purposes.

The Concluding Statement

The stem cell applications in regenerative medicine are wide and tremendous. Their potential in treating diverse disease profiles has drawn the interest of the scientific community, particularly for the disorders that currently lack a definitive cure. The advancement in technology is unravelling more benefits, sources, and treatment procedures. The outcomes of the early phase clinical trials have been encouraging. However, the type of stem cell, the route of administration, and the dosage must all be optimized for clinical translation.

Advancells has made a name for itself as a trustworthy supplier of stem cells in India due to its dedication to prepare high quality products.