ReviewStem cell research2013
Reconsidering pluripotency tests: do we still need teratoma assays?
Review in Stem cell research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Teratoma Assay for Testing Pluripotency and Malignancy of Stem Cells: Insufficient Reporting and Uptake of Animal-Free Methods-A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Evaluating Strategies to Assess the Differentiation Potential of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells: A Review, Analysis and Call for Innovation.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2025Review
- Reassessment of marker genes in human induced pluripotent stem cells for enhanced quality control.Nature communications · 2024Article
- In vitro human cell culture models in a bench-to-bedside approach to epilepsy.Epilepsia open · 2024Review
- Advances in Genetic Reprogramming: Prospects from Developmental Biology to Regenerative Medicine.Current medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
- Pluripotent Stem Cells of Order Carnivora: Technical Perspective.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (hiPSC)-Derived Neurons and Glia for the Elucidation of Pathogenic Mechanisms in Alzheimer's Disease.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2023Review
- The Manufacture of Xeno- and Feeder-Free Clinical-Grade Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines: First Step for Cell Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Humanised Mice and Immunodeficient Mice (NSG) Are Equally Sensitive for Prediction of Stem Cell Malignancy in the Teratoma Assay.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Recreating Tissue Structures Representative of Teratomas In Vitro Using a Combination of 3D Cell Culture Technology and Human Embryonic Stem Cells.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Mutation or not, what directly establishes a neoplastic state, namely cellular immortality and autonomy, still remains unknown and should be prioritized in our research.Journal of Cancer · 2022Review
- Induced pluripotency in the context of stem cell expansion bioprocess development, optimization, and manufacturing: a roadmap to the clinic.NPJ Regenerative medicine · 2021Review
- Using Advanced Cell Culture Techniques to Differentiate Pluripotent Stem Cells and Recreate Tissue Structures Representative of Teratoma Xenografts.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Article
- To Better Generate Organoids, What Can We Learn From Teratomas?Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
- Human Cell Atlas and cell-type authentication for regenerative medicine.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2020Review
- Evidence for immortality and autonomy in animal cancer models is often not provided, which causes confusion on key issues of cancer biology.Journal of Cancer · 2020Review
- Colon adenocarcinoma-derived cells that express induced-pluripotent stem cell markers possess stem cell function.PloS one · 2020Article
- Evaluation of commonly used ectoderm markers in iPSC trilineage differentiation.Stem cell research · 2019Article
- The MicroRNA-371 Family as Plasma Biomarkers for Monitoring Undifferentiated and Potentially Malignant Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in Teratoma Assays.Stem cell reports · 2018Article
- Mbd3 Promotes Reprogramming of Primary Human Fibroblasts.International journal of stem cells · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The induction of teratoma in mice by the transplantation of stem cells into extra-uterine sites has been used as a read-out for cellular pluripotency since the initial description of this phenomenon in 1954. Since then, the teratoma assay has remained the assay of choice to demonstrate pluripotency, gaining prominence during the recent hype surrounding human stem cell research. However, the scientific significance of the teratoma assay has been debated due to the fact that transplanted cells are exposed to a non-physiological environment. Since many mice are used for a result that is heavily questioned, it is time to reconsider the teratoma assay from an ethical point of view. Candidate alternatives to the teratoma assay comprise the directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into organotypic cells, differentiation of cells in embryoid bodies, the analysis of pluripotency-associated biomarkers with high correlation to the teratoma forming potential of stem cells, predictive epigenetic footprints, or a combination of these technologies. Each of these assays is capable of addressing one or more aspects of pluripotency, however it is essential that these assays are validated to provide an accepted robust, reproducible alternative. In particular, the rapidly expanding number of human induced pluripotent stem cell lines, requires the development of simple, affordable standardized in vitro and in silico assays to reduce the number of animal experiments performed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.