. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Feb 13.

Published in final edited form as: Adv Healthc Mater. 2015 Mar 13;5(1):10–55. doi: 10.1002/adhm.201400842

Table 1.

Stem Cell Sources

Name	Sources	Advantages	Disadvantages
Neural Stem Cells	Brain and spinal cord	1. Multipotent: can differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes	1. Limited differentiation potential
Neural Stem Cells	Brain and spinal cord	2. Show tumor-tropic properties for various cancers	2. Limited source
Hematopoietic Stem Cells	Bone marrow, cord blood, peripheral blood	1. Multipotent: can form lymphoid and myeloid blood cells 2. Many sources 3. Most well-established stem cell source	Limited differentiation potential
Mesenchymal Stem Cells	Bone marrow, adipose tissue, cord blood	1. Multipotent – readily differentiates into bone, cartilage, fat, and muscle but can also be induced to differentiate into neuronal cells	1. Limited differentiation potential but better than NSCs and HSCs
Mesenchymal Stem Cells	Bone marrow, adipose tissue, cord blood	2. Many sources	2. Immunosuppressive properties
Embryonic Stem Cells	Inner cell mass of blastocyst	Pluripotent – has the highest differentiation potential	1. Ethically controversial source (destruction of embryos) 2. Teratoma formation in vivo (requires ex vivo differentiation prior to transplantation)
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells	Somatic cells	1. Pluripotent: has similar differentiation potential as ESCs	1. Potential tumorigenicity
		2. Can be derived from many cell types	2. Low reprogramming efficiency
		3. Patient-specific	3. Characteristics are protocol dependent