Stem cell therapy in animal sciences -A review

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells of body having tremendous potential to self-renew and develop into different cell types to carry out various functions. These distinctive properties make their use dynamic in regenerative therapy. Stem cell research in animal sciences during earlier decades dealt with standardizing protocols for isolation and culture along with evaluation of stem cell specific markers for their characterization. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are more commonly used for cloning, drug discovery, gene targeting, transgenic production. In experimental animal models, ESCs are utilized in therapeutics after in vitro directed differentiation to desired cell type. Adult stem cells are more commonly used in therapeutics as compared to ESCs due to certain practical reasons and features such as ease of isolation and expansion, their multipotency and low immunogenicity. Adult stem cells have been used in animal models for treatment of spinal injuries, tendon, cartilage and ligament defects, wounds and bone defects. In near future, stem cell therapy will provide a sensible approach to various chronic, unresponsive clinical cases and neurological disorders in veterinary field. In this report, an overview of the application of stem cell therapy for treatment of various animal diseases with regard to experimental and clinical cases has been summarized.