The "brainy side" of human embryonic stem cells.

The recent isolation of human embryonic stem (ES) cells is evoking great hopes for their future utilization in cell-replacement therapies and human development research. The hallmarks of ES cells, pluripotency and self-renewal capacity, suggest an infinite source for tissues of virtually all desired types. Specifically, human ES cells may potentially be the basis for effective treatments of a wide range of human neurodegenerative disorders. To enable the translation of this novel biomedical field into the clinic, mechanisms that control the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into fully functional neuronal cells should be analyzed and controlled. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.