[Pluripotent stem cells for cell replacement therapy of diabetes].

The use of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) harbours great potential for a future use in the cell replacement therapy of diabetes mellitus. The in vitro differentiation of human or mouse embryonic stem cells has yielded pancreatic progenitor cells, but not authentic insulin-producing beta cells. Induced pluripotent cells are a class of a pluripotent stem cells potentially suited as a cell source for cell replacement therapy. These patient specific pluripotent cells are generated by reprogramming but unfortunately accumulate genetic and epigenetic errors during reprogramming, precluding their use for therapeutic purposes in humans. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.