Despite the recent promising results of clinical trials using human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based cell therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the risk of teratoma formation resulting from residual undifferentiated hPSCs remains a serious and critical hurdle for broader clinical implementation. To mitigate the tumorigenic risk of hPSC-based cell therapy, a variety of approaches have been examined to ablate the undifferentiated hPSCs based on the unique molecular properties of hPSCs. In the present review, we offer a brief overview of recent attempts at selective elimination of undifferentiated hPSCs to decrease the risk of teratoma formation in hPSC-based cell therapy.
Keywords: Apoptosis; Human pluripotent stem cells; Safe stem cell therapy; Selective cell death; Teratoma.