Perinatal Stem Cells provides researchers and clinicians with a comprehensive description of the current clinical and pre-clinical applications of stem cells derived from perinatal sources, such as amniotic fluid, placenta and placental membranes, the umbilical cord and Wharton's jelly. It's compiled by leading experts in the field, offering readers detailed insights into sources of perinatal stem cells and their potential for disease treatment. Therapeutic applications of perinatal stem cells include the treatment of in utero and pregnancy related diseases, cardiac disease, liver disease, pulmonary disease, inflammatory diseases, for hematopoietic regeneration, and for neural protection after stroke or traumatic brain injury. In addition, the rapid advance in clinical translation and commercialization of perinatal stem cell therapies is highlighted in a section on Clinical and Industry Perspective which provides insight into the new opportunities and challenges involved in this novel and exciting industry. - Explores current clinical and pre-clinical application of stem cells derived from perinatal sources - Offers detailed insight into sources of perinatal stem cells and their potential for disease treatment - Discusses progress in the manufacturing, banking and clinical translation of perinatal stem cells - Edited by a world-renowned team to present a complete story of the development and promise of perinatal stem cells

Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Human Health and Diseases provides a contemporary overview of the fast-moving field of MSC biology, regenerative medicine and therapeutics. MSCs offer the potential to dramatically reduce human suffering from disease. Numerous MSC-based studies are ongoing each year, each offering hope for novel treatments in human disease. This book provides information on MSC application in well-studied human diseases and tissue repair/regeneration and recent advances in their research and treatment. These discoveries are placed within the structural context of tissue and developmental biology in sections dealing with recent advances in our understanding of MSC biology. - Includes insights ranging from MSC biology and development through the derivation and identification and properties of MSCs - Helps to identify potential innovative solutions for restoring normal morphogenesis and/or regeneration of diseased organs - Discusses the fact-based promise of MSC therapeutics and regenerative medicine in the real world

This book covers several aspects of perinatal tissue-derived stem cells, from theoretical concepts to clinical applications. Topics include functions and different sources, immunomodulatory properties, translational point of view, GMP facility design and manufacturing for clinical translation, therapeutic potentials, and finally ethical considerations. The text provides a brief review of each type of perinatal stem cells and then focuses on their multi- or pluripotent properties, regenerative capacity, and future therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine. Additionally, the book discusses GMP compliance in stem cell facilities and the manufacture of stem cells for clinical translation. The chapters are authored by world-renowned experts in the perinatal stem cell field. Perinatal Tissue-Derived Stem Cells: Alternative Sources of Fetal Stem Cells, part of Springer’s Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine series, is essential reading for basic and clinical scientists, clinicians, and pharmaceutical experts working or conducting research in the fields of stem cell biology, molecular aspects of stem cell research, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and cellular therapy.

Long regarded as biological waste, the placenta is gaining momentum as a viable product for clinical use. Due to their unique properties, placental cells and derivatives show great promise in curing various diseases. Utilizing contributions from world-renowned experts, Placenta: The Tree of Life considers the therapeutic potential of these cells. I

During the past decade, a wide range of scientific disciplines have adopted the use of adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) as an important tool for research and discovery. In Adipose-Derived Stem Cells: Methods and Protocols, experts from the field, including members of the esteemed International Federation of Adipose Therapeutics and Science (IFATS), provide defined and established protocols in order to further codify the utilization of these powerful and accessible cells. With chapters organized around approaches spanning the discovery, pre-clinical, and clinical processes, much of the emphasis is placed on human ASC, while additional techniques involving small and large animal species are included. As a volume in the highly successful Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series, the detailed contributions include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Adipose-Derived Stem Cells: Methods and Protocols serves as a vital reference text for experienced researchers as well as new students on the path to further exploring the incredible potential of ASCs.

In recent years there has been an increasing need for transplantation, but the number of donor livers available has increased only slightly, despite intensive public relations activities. New concepts in the field of transplantation, for instance the transplantation of living donor organs or the splitting of organs, are urgently required, to safeguard the treatment of patients with severe liver disease. The development and clinical application of cell therapy for patients with liver disease could soon present a significant enhancement of the therapeutic options. The aim of such cell therapy is to repair or improve the biological function of the chronically and acutely damaged liver. Even though systematic trials are not available, individual case reports and small series already show promising clinical results. Present concepts of cell therapy for liver diseases based on the use of primary hepatocytes have recently been considerably extended through new data on the biology of stem cells. The adult haematopoetic stem cell as a pool for hepatocyte grafts - what would be the perspectives for the clinical application? This book is the proceedings of the Falk Symposium No. 126 on `Hepatocyte Transplantation' (Progress in Gastroenterology and Hepatology Part III) held in Hannover, Germany, October 2-3, 2001, and is a forum for basic research, but also for questions concerning clinical applications in the field of hepatocyte transplantation.

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.