A question to you both:
Since most testing is done on animals prior to humans, what types of stem-cell tests have been done? If not, why not?
Thanks.
There are a few (scant few) research programs devoted to harvesting of embryos for ESCR in other mammals, but the push is to go directly to human models without extensive other animal models. And that's sad because 'xeno-transfers' could solve many stubborn medical problems if ESCR in higher mammals other than the human is successful in genetic pathway extensions.
I do not have information to answer your question, as I am on the chemical, and not on biological or clinical side of the field.
If you think about it, why try to grow a kidney from ESC when the entire organ is so complex and requires so many months to reach utility and so many years to reach a size quantification?
If, on the other hand, pluripotent stem cells could be observed differentiating into the various tissue types of the organ, the target tissues (such as neutron tubules) could be isolated for transplantation into a needy patient.
The holy grail is to figure out how to de-differentiate our own circulating stem cells (usually multipotent, not pluripotent) and direct them to develop the tissues we need for cures ... our own stem cells would be 'tissue matched' for each of us individually, thus process would be the money maker, not some 'oral or injectable' med. In differences to GSlob, this lack of 'one pill cures all' may be what holds back corporate investment in the research. On the other hand, most differentiation is regulated and instigated by enzymes, etc., which may in fact be produced to result in the 'miracle' portrayed in Star Trek, The Journey Home, with the 'new kidney' Bones' pills grew for the elderly woman on the gurney in the hospital where they rescued Chekov.