Defining Biomarkers in Stem Cell-Derived Tissue Constructs for Drug and Disease Screening

Alexander R Harris; Patrick McGivern; Frederic Gilbert; Nicole Van Bergen

doi:10.1002/adhm.202401433

Defining Biomarkers in Stem Cell-Derived Tissue Constructs for Drug and Disease Screening

Adv Healthc Mater. 2024 May 14:e2401433. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202401433. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Alexander R Harris¹, Patrick McGivern², Frederic Gilbert³, Nicole Van Bergen^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia.
² School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
³ School of Humanities, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
⁴ Brain and Mitochondrial Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, 3002, Australia.
⁵ Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3002, Australia.

PMID: 38741544
DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202401433

Abstract

The development of stem cell-derived tissue constructs (SCTCs) for clinical applications, including regenerative medicine, drug and disease screening offers significant hope for detecting and treating intractable disorders. SCTCs display a variety of biomarkers that can be used to understand biological mechanisms, assess drug interactions, and predict disease. Although SCTCs can be derived from patients and share the same genetic make-up, they are nevertheless distinct from human patients in many significant ways, which can undermine the clinical significance of measurements in SCTCs. This study defines biomarkers, how they apply to SCTCs, and clarifies specific ethical issues associated with the use of SCTCs for drug and disease screening.

Keywords: bioethics; biomarkers; disease screening; drug screening; stem cell‐derived tissue construct.