Provides explanations of experiments with animal models and clinical trials that are transforming the field of regeneration.

In the last 3 decades, stem cells have greatly impacted the scientific and lay communities, providing huge advances in the treatment of devastating human diseases, including myocardial infarction, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, cirrhosis, and osteoporosis. Alongside debates of induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells has been the discovery of adult stem cells in many different tissues. While these organ resident or progenitor stem cells offer prospects to contribute to tissue regeneration, they also present challenges because of the complexity of organ structures. This book will present the main findings to date and the important factors to be considered when considering resident stem cells in regenerative therapies. Chapters on cardiac, brain, neural, liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, bone, pancreatic, skin, and lung resident stem cells will assist in defining the level of success that has been achieved and the direction for the road ahead. With contributions from leading laboratories, open questions related to resident stem cells and regenerative therapies will also be presented for debate. - Highlights basic research in tissue specific stem cells, experiments with animal models and clinical trials that are transforming the field of regeneration - Provides a clear understanding of endogenous stem cells, their role in current regenerative therapies, and prospects for future research - Reports on the main-stream clinical approaches and in vivo experiments published in primary literature to help categorizes the advances in various aspects of regenerative therapy and illustrate opportunities for clinical applications

The commercialization of biotechnology has resulted in an intensive search for new biological resources for the purposes of increasing food productivity, medicinal applications, energy production, and various other applications. Although biotechnology has produced many benefits for humanity, the exploitation of the planet's natural resources has also resulted in some undesirable consequences such as diminished species biodiversity, climate change, environmental contamination, and intellectual property right and patent concerns.This book discusses the role of biological, ecological, environmental, ethical, and economic issues in the interaction between biotechnology and biodiversity, using different contexts. No other book has discussed all of these issues in a comprehensive manner. Of special interest is their impact when biotechnology is shared between developed and developing countries, and the lack of recognition of the rights of indigenous populations and traditional farmers in developing countries by large multinational corporations.

Resident Stem Cells and Regenerative Therapy: Sources and Clinical Applications, Second Edition presents the main findings to date and the important factors to be considered when contemplating resident stem cells in regenerative therapies. Chapters on cardiac, brain, neural, liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, bone, pancreatic, skin and lung resident stem cells will assist in defining the level of success that has been achieved and the direction for the road ahead. With contributions from leading laboratories, open questions related to resident stem cells and regenerative therapies will also be presented for debate. In the last several decades, stem cells have greatly impacted the scientific and lay communities, providing huge advances in the treatment of devastating human diseases, including myocardial infarction, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, cirrhosis, and osteoporosis. Alongside debates of induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells has been the discovery of adult stem cells in many different tissues. While these organ resident or progenitor stem cells offer prospects to contribute to tissue regeneration, they also present challenges because of the complexity of organ structures.

Virtually any disease that results from malfunctioning, damaged, or failing tissues may be potentially cured through regenerative medicine therapies, by either regenerating the damaged tissues in vivo, or by growing the tissues and organs in vitro and implanting them into the patient. Principles of Regenerative Medicine discusses the latest advances in technology and medicine for replacing tissues and organs damaged by disease and of developing therapies for previously untreatable conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, and renal failure. - Key for all researchers and instituions in Stem Cell Biology, Bioengineering, and Developmental Biology - The first of its kind to offer an advanced understanding of the latest technologies in regenerative medicine - New discoveries from leading researchers on restoration of diseased tissues and organs

Stem Cells and Aging covers what is known about the effect of time and age on the basic units of life, which are the corresponding tissue-specific or adult stem cells. Even though the concept of stem cells was introduced nearly a century ago by Alexander Maximow, modern stem-cell research began in 1963 when James Till, Ernest McCullough and Lou Siminovitch established assays to detect hematopoietic stem cells. In fact, given the importance of the aging-associated diseases, scientists have developed a keen interest in understanding the aging process as they attempt to define the role of dysfunctional stem cells in the aging process. With an aging population worldwide, understanding these age-related stem cell changes at a basic biology level and at the level of their influences for regenerative medicine is of interest and importance. There is increasing evidence that the aging process can have much adverse effects on stem cells. In the modern era, one of the emerging fields in treating human diseases is stem cell research, as stem cells have the remarkable potential to treat a wide range of diseases. Nevertheless, understanding the molecular mechanism involved in aging and deterioration of stem cell function is crucial in developing effective new therapies for aging. - Serves as an ideal reference to guide investigators toward valuable answers to the problems of our aging population - Addresses the effect of time and age on human stem cells - Includes chapters from contributors exploring the biology of stem cell aging around the globe

Over the past decade, significant efforts have been made to develop stem cell-based therapies for difficult to treat diseases. Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells, also referred to as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), appear to hold great promise in regards to a regenerative cell-based therapy for the treatment of these diseases. Currently, more than 200 clinical trials are underway worldwide exploring the use of MSCs for the treatment of a wide range of disorders including bone, cartilage and tendon damage, myocardial infarction, graft-versus-host disease, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, critical limb ischemia and many others. MSCs were first identified by Friendenstein and colleagues as an adherent stromal cell population within the bone marrow with the ability to form clonogenic colonies in vitro. In regards to the basic biology associated with MSCs, there has been tremendous progress towards understanding this cell population’s phenotype and function from a range of tissue sources. Despite enormous progress and an overall increased understanding of MSCs at the molecular and cellular level, several critical questions remain to be answered in regards to the use of these cells in therapeutic applications. Clinically, both autologous and allogenic approaches for the transplantation of MSCs are being explored. Several of the processing steps needed for the clinical application of MSCs, including isolation from various tissues, scalable in vitro expansion, cell banking, dose preparation, quality control parameters, delivery methods and numerous others are being extensively studied. Despite a significant number of ongoing clinical trials, none of the current therapeutic approaches have, at this point, become a standard of care treatment. Although exceptionally promising, the clinical translation of MSC-based therapies is still a work in progress. The extensive number of ongoing clinical trials is expected to provide a clearer path forward for the realization and implementation of MSCs in regenerative medicine. Towards this end, reviews of current clinical trial results and discussions of relevant topics association with the clinical application of MSCs are compiled in this book from some of the leading researchers in this exciting and rapidly advancing field. Although not absolutely all-inclusive, we hope the chapters within this book can promote and enable a better understanding of the translation of MSCs from bench-to-bedside and inspire researchers to further explore this promising and quickly evolving field.