Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

The potent effects of Japan’s stem-cell policies

A five-year regulatory free-for-all in regenerative medicine has given the industry a boost. But patients might be paying the price.
  1. David Cyranoski

    1. David Cyranoski reports for Nature from Shanghai, China.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Illustration by Fabio Buonocore

Tucked away in Tokyo’s trendiest fashion district — two floors above a pricey French patisserie, and alongside nail salons and jewellers — the clinicians at Helene Clinic are infusing people with stem cells to treat cardiovascular disease. Smartly dressed female concierges with large bows on their collars shuttle Chinese medical tourists past an aquarium and into the clinic’s examination rooms.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 573, 482-485 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02847-3

Additional reporting by Brendan Maher.

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 10 October 2019: An earlier version of this feature stated that an anonymous patient received a treatment called HeartSheet, developed by Yoshiki Sawa. The patient was told he was receiving a sheet of muscle cells from his thigh, which matches the description of HeartSheet, and was under the impression that Sawa was administering HeartSheet. Terumo, the company that produces HeartSheet, says that the patient did not receive HeartSheet but instead received an experimental treatment. Sawa has not returned Nature’s numerous requests for information or comment.

References

  1. Daley, G. Q. et al. Stem Cell Rep. 6, 787–797 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Tsuji, K. et al. Eur. J. Heart Fail. 19, 1258–1269 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Miyamoto, S. Nature 569, 40 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Honmou, O. Jpn J. Neurosurg. 25, 979–984 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Sipp, D. & Sleeboom-Faulkner, M. Science 365, 644–646 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

  • Two Junior Research Group Leaders (f/d/m) for Photonics

    Friedrich Schiller University is a traditional University with a strong research profile based in the heart of Germany. As a University covering al...

    07743, Jena (DE)

    Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

  • PhD Researcher Positions (f/m/d)

    Yeast Synthetic Biology

    Germany (DE)

    Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

  • Reporter, Nature

    Reporter, Nature Location: London, UK - Hybrid office and remote working Closing date: 13th May 2024   Nature, the world’s most authoritative scien...

    London (Greater) (GB)

    Springer Nature Ltd

  • Vice-Chancellor and President

    The Chinese University of Hong Kong Vice-Chancellor and President The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is conducting a worldwide search for t...

    Hong Kong (HK)

    The Chinese University of Hong Kong

  • ERC-funded PhD and Postdoc Positions in Comparative Genomics

    We are looking for two PhD and/or PostDoc candidates for the 6 years ERC-funded grant project "BATPROTECT" in Frankfurt a.M., Germany

    Frankfurt am Main, Hessen (DE)

    Senckenberg Society for Nature Research

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links