What can be learned by studying pluripotent stem cells?
Studying mouse pluripotent stem cells carrying disease-causing mutations has already greatly enhanced scientific and medical knowledge of how genetic diseases develop. The hope is that a similar knowledge explosion will take place by studying human pluripotent stem cell lines carrying mutations found in such genetic disorders as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, adult and juvenile diabetes, autoimmune diseases, allergic disorders, and early onset heart and cardiovascular disease.
