ABSTRACT

Advances in tissue engineering, cell transplantation, and genetic technologies have created intense interest in the use of living cells as therapeutic tools in clinical care. The field of tissue engineering has already developed several commercial products used to temporarily or permanently replace organ functions, with the promise of many more to come. Cell transplantation is being used for many clinical indications to replace or enhance certain organ functions. Gene therapy is based on

the overexpression or downregulation of one or several cellular processes to provide enhanced functions to cells for various therapeutic end goals, such as wound healing, and tissue repair. Recent advances in stem cell biology further fuel the excitement for these burgeoning approaches by providing a potentially unlimited source of cells for reparative medicine.