ABSTRACT
Cell-based therapy is one of the promising and rapidly growing fields of translational medicine. It stands at the interface of a variety of dynamically developing disciplines, including biomaterials, transplantation, tissue engineering, drug delivery, and stem cell biology. Cell-based therapeutics hold great promise for treating both genetic and acquired diseases. Initially, cell-based therapeutics have been used for blood transfusions and bone marrow transplantations. However, recent advances in cell and molecular biology have expanded the potential applications of this approach. Cells are currently used as substitutes for diseased or damaged cells and tissues (cell replacement therapy), components in the reconstruction of regenerated tissues (tissue engineering), and drug delivery vehicles. The use of dendritic cells as cell vaccines is also an emerging immunotherapeutic modality. Dendritic cells can be equipped with antigens and thus can act as cell-based vaccines to prevent tumor relapse.
