Research on human embryonic stem cells in Germany

Human embryonic stem cells and, more generally, human pluripotent stem cells have attracted much interest for nearly 15 years. The German Stem Cell Act that came into effect on 1 July 2002 strictly regulates research in human embryonic stem cells. This article introduces currently available human pluripotent stem cell types, gives an overview on potential options to use these cells beyond research and summarizes present research activities involving human pluripotent stem cells in Germany. In particular, German research projects with the aim of establishing novel cell models for the detection of human-specific developmental toxicity in vitro are discussed and efforts to develop human germ cells from human pluripotent stem cells are presented.