The Potential and Application of Stem Cell Research in Medicine and Economy

Stem Cell 

Stem cells are characterized by two unique properties that allow for self-renewal and differentiation. With the self-renewal property, stem cells are able to divide and produce copies of identical stem cells throughout an individual's lifetime. This self-renewal ability was achieved through the process of mitosis that creates daughter stem cells that possess the same ability to self-renew and differentiate. As a result, stem cells can constantly undergo cycles of cell division and expand the stem cell pool. The stem cell self-renewal property is maintained through two proliferation mechanisms: asymmetric and symmetric self-renewal. For symmetric self-renewal, stem cells can divide into two identical stem cells, while for asymmetric self-renewal, stem cells will eventually divide into one stem cell and one differentiated cell (2). Such self-renewal of stem cells is regulated by the cell cycle and pluripotency or multipotency maintenance, which involves the ability to differentiate multiple cell types or cell types with limited linkage, respectively. Accompanying the self-renewal property, the differentiation abilities (involving the transformation of stem cells into a specialized cell type that can perform a particular function) are critical for the developmental biology and medicine including maintaining tissue development, repair for injury of dead cells, and assists in disease diagnosis through the identification of specific cell types with similar symptoms in the patient.  

Potential in Stem Cell Research  

Currently, stem cells have become one of the primary studies of research that displays a high potential in enhancing future science and medical fields. First, stem cell research promotes understanding regarding the occurrence of disease. Specifically through the process of stem cells maturation into cells in bones, heart muscles, nerves, and other organs/tissues, researchers will be able to gain a better knowledge of disease mechanism and condition development. Furthermore, stem cells are suggested to play a crucial role in regenerative medicine by generating healthy cells to replace cells damaged by disease. Stem cells can transform into specific cells under intentional guidance to regenerate and repair tissues that are affected by diseases including leukemia, Hodgkin disease, and tumor cancers (3). For instance, one of the most common stem cell therapies, hematopoietic stem cell transplantations, has been identified as an imperative treatment method for cancer and disorders that affect the blood and immune system. Such treatment innovation refers to the transplantation of bone marrow by removing dysfunctional or depleted bone marrow from the patient and replacing them with healthy stem cells. However, there are some limitations regarding stem cell therapies including the graft versus cancer effect—when the patient receives their own stem cell without the ability to kill remaining cancer cell within the body—and the graft versus host disease—when new immune system attacks the body of the recipient from the transplanted donor stem cells. Therefore, the current research regards stem cells as essential for proficient treatment development.  

Economic Interconnection  

Research in stem cells has numerous potential economic benefits including lower healthcare costs, industry expansion, increased employment rate, generating tax revenue, and creating new collaboration connections. Indeed, stem cell research exploration may develop various medical treatment therapies for diseases with high healthcare costs including Alzheimer’s diabetes, and heart disease. Even without completely curing the disease, the reduced impact and improving the quality and length of life for millions of people will significantly decrease the expense in healthcare. The stem cell therapies treatment in diseases such as lung cancer would garner a societal benefit of $151 billion and a similar reduction in colon and prostate cancers that would result in respective savings of $72 billion and $53 billion (5). Additionally, stem cell research promotes industry expansion and allows for the increase of occupations in various fields including biotechnology, healthcare, and manufacturing. The Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at USC suggested that California's stem cell research initiative results in the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes, and producing billions of dollars in additional revenue for the state (1). Lastly, a new linkage of collaboration will be illustrating between academia, healthcare, and industry that are imperative for the future both innovation and economic development. 

Call for Action 

Overall, stem cell research displays a great potential in medical, science, and economic development and serves as an essential treatment innovation in various diseases. However, when considering the ethical perspective, there are issues regarding commercial promotion of unproven stem cell-based intervention. In particular, the increased popularity of social media and internet provides a new outlet for the marketing of licensed and unlicensed therapeutics and offer sellers to the worldwide audience, amplifying the difficulty in enforcing national policies in a global marketplace. As a result, the public may receive misinformation regarding risks, efficacy, and treatment alternatives (4). With the unproven marketing regarding stem cell research, the public will develop an extreme perspective regarding such innovation development in both overly optimistic and pessimistic. Many audiences of false commercial promotion may develop a distrust in both medical science institutions and the government which intervene in the enhancement development of the overall nation due to lack of both social and economic support.

On the other hand, in terms of overly optimistic audiences, the audience who received a false flawless version of stem cell therapies are ignorant of the limitation of such treatment methods, resulting in the increased risk of exploitation of vulnerable patients and families who are in desperate of cure while also cause a significant damage to patient’s health from the unproved interventions. Therefore, health literacy education and collaborative relationship development would be essential for licensed professionals to deliver accurate information to the public. Industry leaders and scientists/healthcare professionals should constantly interact and consult each other regarding the impact of certain innovation, disease, and treatment methods. Additionally, non-profit organizations should also promote health education around the world, especially in the underserved areas with a lack of educational opportunity, with proficient and clear outlines regarding the most updated health information. These health education promotions can be delivered in the form of speaking, vision, illustrations, or activities. To reach a world with science and medicine advancement, it would be imperative for not merely scientists, healthcare professionals, industry leaders, political leaders, and organization, but also the continuous education from the teachers to the new generation on health education and research development. Eventually, everyone will play a role in the innovation development and enhancement of science and economy.  

References 

1. California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. (2024, February 16). California: The leader in stem cell research. https://www.cirm.ca.gov/california-leader-stem-cell-research 

2. Goodman, S. R. (Ed.). (2020). Goodman’s medical cell biology (Fourth edition). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817927-7.00013-2  

3. Mayo Clinic. (2024, March 23). Stem cells: What they are and what they do. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bone-marrow-transplant/in-depth/stem-cells/art-20048117 

4. Sipp, D., Caulfield, T., Kaye, J., Barfoot, J., Blackburn, C., Chan, S., Luca, M. D., Kent, A., Mccabe, C., Munsie, M., Sleeboom-Faulkner, M., Sugarman, J., Zimmeren, E. V., Zarzeczny, A., & Rasko, J. E. J. (2017, July 5). Marketing of unproven stem cell–based interventions: A call to action. Science Translational Medicine, 9(397). https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aag0426  

5. USC Schaeffer Center. (2020, June 24). Schaeffer study shows public investment in stem cell research makes economic sense. https://www.healthpolicy.usc.edu/article/schaeffer-study-shows-public-investment-in-stem-cell-research-makes-economic-sense/