Trends in Stem Cell Biology and Technology, 2009

Stem cells, characterized by the ability to both self-renew and to generate diff- entiated functional cell types, have been derived from the embryo and from va- ous sources of the postnatal animals and human. The recent advances in stem cell research have led to a better understanding of self-renewal, maintenance, and diff- entiation of both embryonic and somatic stem cells. This has significantly increased our knowledge of cellular and developmental biology in general and will certainly continue to do so for a long time to come. Moreover, given their role in maintaining and replenishing tissues, stem cells represent a potential means of restoring tissue function and thereby treating the root cause of degenerative disease. Therefore, in parallel, we need to improve our cognizance of the challenges involved in applying stem cells in clinical settings. The current chapters highlight both of these aspects: that of understanding the ?actual? and that of developing the ?possible. ? In recognition of the growing excitement and potential of stem cells as models for both the advancement of basic science and future clinical applications, I felt it timely to edit this book in which forefront investigators would provide new findings for the use of stem cells to study various lineages and tissue types and some app- cations.

Chapters: Human Embryonic Stem Cells: Their nature, properties and uses Bongso A, Fong CY. Production of Uniparental Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Eckardt S, McLaughlin KJ. Parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells in non-human primates Ragina NP, Cibelli JB. Nuclear and somatic cell genetic reprogramming Zuccotti M, Garagna S, Redi CA. Reprogramming male germ cells to pluripotent stem cells Mardanpour P, Guan K, Glaeser T, Lee JH, Nolte J, Wulf G, Hasenfuss G, Engel W, Brüstle O, Nayernia K. Pluripotent stem cell epigenetics during development and cancer Noelia Andollo N, Boyano M. D, Zalduendo MDM, Aréchaga J. Observing and manipulating pluripotency in normal and cloned mouse embryos Balbach ST, Cavaleri FM, Gentile L, Araúzo-Bravo MJ, Schöler HR, Crosetto N, Boiani M. Current developments in genetically manipulated mice Matthaei KI. Differentiating gametes from stem cells Marqués-Marí AI, Medrano JV, Simón C. Spermatogonial stem cells Rooij DG. Regulated transcripts and co-regulated microRNAs in male spermatogonial stem cells Olive V, Cuzin F, Rassoulzadegan M. Human Mesenchymal Stem cells: Basic biology and clinical applications for bone tissue regeneration Abadía BM, Saeed H, Kassem M. Clinical cell therapy for heart disease Stamm C, Nasseri B, Hetzer R. Embryonic stem cells, cardiomyoplasty and the risk of teratoma formation Šaric T, Frenzel LP, Fatima A, Gupta MK, Hescheler J. Neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells and their potential application in a therapy for sensorineuralhearing loss Trachoo O, Rivolta MN. Stem cell transplantation supports the repair of injured olfactory neuroepithelium after permanent lesion Franceschini V, Bettini S, Riccardo Saccardi R, Revoltella RP. Strategies towards beta-cell replacement Roche E, Vicente-Salar N, Arribas M, Paredes B. Corneal epithelial stem cells and their therapeutic application Kolli S, Lako M, Figueiredo F, Ahmad S. Tissue engineered scaffolds for stem cells and regenerative medicine Hossein Hosseinkhani, Mohsen Hosseinkhani. Mechanotransduction and its Role in Stem Cell Biology Wolf CB, Mofrad MRK.