Stem cell research and technology represent a major challenge for treating otherwise noncurable patients. A decade of intensive research has demonstrated that initial hopes based more on the will to succeed than on solid scientific bases can be translated into factual techniques only by adopting more rigorous procedures and strategies. Among other major impediments, the failure so far experienced in applying stem cell technologies to repair parenchymal organs can be ascribed to the lack of sufficient knowledge of basic mechanisms, but also to the lack of standardized criteria and protocols. Very often each laboratory follows its own "recipe" using erratic nomenclature and non-comparable, if not confusing, experimental protocols. All this makes it difficult to learn from the others and, ultimately, hampers the advance of knowledge on stem cell behavior. The ambitious goal of Adult Stem Cell Standardization is to gather the most innovative and scientifically robust knowledge and technologies on stem cells and involve investigators from academy and industry in formulating recommendations to standardize the isolation and manipulation of stem cells using solid and well-documented knowledge rather than fragmentary and often unrepeatable experimental reports.

This volume contains a collection of protocols from some of the major laboratories involved in stem cell research across the world. The research discussed in this book covers topics such as: isolating, characterizing and expanding dental pulp stem cells; manipulating the proliferative potential of cardiomyocytes by gene transfer; isolation of stromal stem cells from adipose tissue; noninvasive assessment of cell fat and biology in transplanted mesenchymal stem cells; and cell-free therapy for organ repair. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and thorough, Adult Stem Cells: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for helping researchers transform the study of stem cells into an industrialized process that will supply patients with efficient, safe, and cost-effective cell treatments.

This volume contains a collection of protocols from some of the major laboratories involved in stem cell research across the world. The research discussed in this book covers topics such as: isolating, characterizing and expanding dental pulp stem cells; manipulating the proliferative potential of cardiomyocytes by gene transfer; isolation of stromal stem cells from adipose tissue; noninvasive assessment of cell fat and biology in transplanted mesenchymal stem cells; and cell-free therapy for organ repair. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and thorough, Adult Stem Cells: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for helping researchers transform the study of stem cells into an industrialized process that will supply patients with efficient, safe, and cost-effective cell treatments.

In spite of intensive investments and investigations carried out in the last decade, many aspects of the stem cell physiology, technology and regulation remain to be fully defined. After the enthusiasm that characterized the first decade of the discovery that when given the right cue, stem cells could repair all the different tissues in the body; it is now time to start a serious and coordinated action to define how to govern the stem cell potential and to exploit it for clinical applications. This can be achieved only with shared research programs involving investigators from all over the world and making the results available to all. The Disputationes Workshop series (http://disputationes.info) is an international initiative aimed at disseminating stem cell related cutting edge knowledge among scientists, healthcare workers, students and policy makers. The present book gathers together some of the ideas discussed during the third and fourth Disputationes Workshops held in Florence (Italy) and Aalborg (Denmark), respectively. The aim of this book is to preserve those ideas in order to contribute to the general discussion on organ repair and to bolster a fundamental scientific and technological leap forwards the treatment of otherwise incurable diseases.

Stem cell biology student's edition is published for the audience to learn basic knowledge on stem cells including embryonic, adult and induced pluripotent stem cells. More specifically this book describes embryonic stem cell biology, isolation and maintenance of mouse embryonic and adult stem cells, molecular mechanisms of stem cell self-renewal, nuclear cloning, genetic manipulation of stem cells, and their applications and challenges in regenerative medicine. The contents of this book are written in a simplified language for better understanding on stem cell biology for graduate and undergraduate students.