The advancement of and prospects for stem cell research raise a number of specific ethical issues. While navigating the ethical landscape of stem cell research is often challenging for biology researchers and biotechnology innovators, it is also difficult for the public and other persons of concern (from ethicists to policy-makers) to grasp the technicalities of a burgeoning field that develops in many directions. Organoids are one of these new biotechnological constructs that are currently eliciting a rich debate in bioethics. In this guide, we argue that different types of organoids have different emerging properties with different ethical implications. Going from general properties to particular ones, we propose a typology of organoid technology and other associated biotechnology from a philosophical and ethical perspective. We point to relevant ethical issues and try to convey the sense of uncertainty peculiar to ongoing research and emerging technological objects.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/boc.202400093 | DOI Listing |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11758490 | PMC |
Stem Cells
January 2025
Bioengineering Graduate Program, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 46556 IN, USA.
Myocardial infarction can lead to the loss of billions of cardiomyocytes, and while cell-based therapies are an option, immature nature of in vitro-generated human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (iCMs) is a roadblock to their development. Existing iPSC differentiation protocols don't go beyond producing fetal iCMs. Recently, adult extracellular matrix (ECM) was shown to retain tissue memory and have some success driving tissue-specific differentiation in unspecified cells in various organ systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStem Cells
January 2025
Medicine and Pharmacy Research Center, and Yantai Key Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, 346 Guanhai Road, Yantai, Shandong 264003, China.
Neural stem cells (NSCs) have great potentials in the application of neurodegenerative disease therapy, drug screening, and disease modeling. However, current approaches for induced NSCs (iNSCs) generation from somatic cells are still slow and inefficient. Here we establish a rapid and efficient method of iNSCs generation from human and mouse fibroblasts by single microRNAs (miR-302a).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Bone Miner Res
January 2025
NHC Key Lab of Hormones and Development, Tianjin Key Lab of Metabolic Diseases, Chu Hsien-I Memorial Hospital & Institute of Endocrinology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300134, China.
Epiregulin plays a role in a range of biological activities including malignancies. This study aims to investigate the potential contribution of epiregulin to bone cell differentiation and bone homeostasis. The data showed that epiregulin expression was upregulated during osteogenesis but downregulated during adipogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutr Rev
January 2025
Universidade Federal Fluminense (Fluminense Federal University), Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Food and Nutrition Integrated Center, Niterói, RJ CEP 24020-140, Brazil.
Phytochemicals, which are bioactive compounds contained in fruits, vegetables, and teas, have a positive effect on human health by having anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic effects. Several studies have highlighted the ability of bioactive compounds to activate key cellular enzymes associated with important signaling pathways related to cell division and proliferation, as well as their role in inflammatory and immunological responses. Some phytochemicals are associated with increased proliferation, differentiation, and expression of markers related to osteogenesis, bone formation, and mineralization by activating various signaling pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci China Life Sci
January 2025
Institute for Regenerative Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Cardiology and Medical Innovation Center, Shanghai East Hospital, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
Hair cells in the mammalian cochlea are highly vulnerable to damage from drug toxicity, noise exposure, aging, and genetic mutations, with no capacity for regeneration. Progress in hair cell protection research has been limited by the scarcity of cochlear tissue and suitable in vitro models. Here, we present a novel one-step, self-organizing inner ear organoid system optimized with small molecules, which bypasses the need for multi-step expansion and forced differentiation protocols.
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