Interview The Power of Stem Cells: Shaping the Future of Regenerative Medicine

Prof. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla (METP): Stem cell research has evolved enormously. One of the biggest breakthroughs was learning how to turn adult cells, like those from skin or blood, back into stem cells. This discovery, called induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs, gave us a way to create cells that can become almost anything in the body – opening up new ways to study disease and develop treatments.

Prof. Magdalena Götz (MG): Another major step was direct reprogramming – where we take one kind of cell and convert it straight into another, skipping the stem cell stage. For instance, we can now turn glial cells (brain support cells) into new neurons. This holds real promise for diseases like stroke, when neurons are lost. It’s not just about repairing tissues; it’s about actually creating the cells needed for functional recovery.

MG: Instead of creating stem cells first, we use specific proteins to directly change one cell type into another. For example, we can turn astrocytes – including human astrocytes – into functional neurons. This method could help treat brain diseases where neurons are damaged or lost, without the need for donor cells or immune suppression.

METP: What is particularly important here is that we can use a patient’s own cells. That means fewer risks of rejection and more personalized therapies. This approach could be used in other organs too, like turning fibroblasts into healthy lung tissue for patients with chronic lung diseases.

MG: There are promising clinical trials already underway. We’re seeing stem cells used to make insulin-producing cells for diabetes, restore vision in age-related eye diseases, and even treat corneal blindness.

METP: Another exciting development is in treating patients who have suffered damage to their salivary glands, a common side effect following cancer radiation therapy. These patients often lose the ability to produce saliva and have severe dryness and difficulty swallowing. Scientists have successfully used stem cells to regenerate these damaged glands, improving the quality of life for these patients.

METP: One of the most exciting possibilities is the use of totipotent cells, which are even more powerful than pluripotent cells. These cells can become any cell in the body and could be used to regenerate entire organs or cells that we currently cannot generate. This could potentially offer a way to replace damaged organs or regenerate tissues that have been lost due to injury or disease. It’s still early times, but the potential is huge.

MG: Another big challenge is diseases with scar tissue, like heart failure or liver fibrosis. If we can reprogram the cells that cause the scarring into healthy tissue, we could truly restore organ function. This is why in the brain we turn scar-forming glia into neurons.

METP: Scaling these therapies is tricky. We need to produce large numbers of high-quality cells safely and affordably. The manufacturing process is complex and tightly regulated for good reason and thus safety and scalability remain a challenge, which need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

MG:And indeed we still need more clinical trials, especially for in vivo reprogramming, and also long-term studies to make sure treatments are safe and effective over time. The science is progressing fast, but we have to be cautious and responsible as we move toward clinical use.

Latest update: Mai 2025