¹Cellular Reprogramming Laboratory, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain

Correspondence: M Stojkovic, (mstojkovic@cipf.es)

Abstract

This review aims to introduce current and future uses of human embryonic stem cells derived from in vitro-fertilized embryos. These and stem cells derived from parthenogenetic and nuclear transfer embryos could be used for cell therapy, as in vitro cell models for drug discovery/screening, and for studying early human development and pathogenesis of human diseases. However, development of therapeutic and screening applications and products from embryonic stem cells is hampered by several barriers. Therefore, gaps in our current understanding of the basic science of stem cells need to be filled before either application can move forward with confidence.