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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Apr 3.
Published in final edited form as: Cell Stem Cell. 2014 Apr 3;14(4):431–444. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2014.03.009

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Barriers to clinical translation. A variety of stem cell types (e.g., adult somatic cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and embryonic stem cells) are available for transplantation, each with their advantages and disadvantages. Adult somatic stem cells are most commonly transplanted directly into the recipient, whereas embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells undergo in vitro differentiation prior to transplantation. Regardless of the stem cell type, their successful application in regenerative therapy faces similar clinical hurdles, including: 1) limited engraftment, survival, and proliferation; 2) poor differentiation, maturation and integration; 3) immunogenicity with allogeneic transplantation; and 4) potential tumorigenicity with pluripotent stem cell derivatives. Cell imaging plays a pivotal role in overcoming these hurdles and will help guide the translation of this promising therapy.