The use of adult stem cells in regenerative medicine.

The cellular component of the tissue engineering paradigm is arguably the most important piece of the complex task of regenerating or repairing damaged or diseased tissue. Critical to the development of clinical strategies is the need for reliable sources of multipotent cells that can be obtained with limited morbidity. The adult stem cell population may be well suited for this task. The next several years will bring many phase I and II studies using adult stem cells as the cellular foundation for engineered tissue constructs. Future research should be directed toward better characterization of this cell population, including identifying unique markers and mapping out lineage development. For now, the ideal source of adult stem cells remains uncertain, but as questions are answered, adult stem cell biology will likely transition from bench top to clinical reality.