Somatic cell therapy is the use of mature human cells to prevent and treat medical disorders. The most common types of cell therapy are blood and platelet transfusions, which have been used for many decades.

Various somatic cell therapies are in development in laboratories around the world. One of the most common is the development of T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and chronic infectious diseases. T cells can be reprogrammed with Lentiviral vectors to retarget them to attack malignant cancer cells or cells infected with a virus. Other somatic cells of interest are cancer cells, skin cells and cells of the nervous system. Lentiviral vector mediated reprogramming of cancer cells are potentially useful "Trojan horses" for the treatment of cancer. Reprogrammed skin cells have many potential applications, including the treatment of chronic diabetic wounds. Cells of the nervous system treated with Lentiviral vector could be used for the treatment of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.