Protocols for Adult Stem Cells (Methods in Molecular Biology, 621)

Although embryonic stem cells currently enjoy the public limelight and show great pr- ise for cell based medical therapies, it is the adult stem cells which are responsible for the body’s natural ability to fght disease, heal and recover, or fail and succumb to various maladies. The study of mammalian adult stem cells has surged recently, most likely from a maturation of stem cell studies in the classical developmental model organisms and in hematopoeisis. All the tissues of the body examined so far are generated and regenerated from stem cells, it has been an important frst step to adapt or devise new methods to identify and obtain these cells in quantity and purity for further study. Culture techniques have been optimized for managing the growth and differentiation of stem cells in vitro; as some stem cells are pluripotent, often the method is to guide the fate of such cells among the possible differentiation fates. Much of this work, and that in the classical model org- isms, has helped defne the aspects of the stem cell environment or niche that are crucial for both growth and differentiation, and these studies have moved in vivo at increasingly higher resolution. Importantly, the in vivo niche is a current target for bioengineering the matrix and signaling factors. Herein, we present methods for studying six types of mammalian stem cells, m- mary, neural, mesenchymal, endothelial, dendritic, and muscle.

The study of adult stem cells has surged in recent years. Because they are responsible for the body’s natural ability to fight diseases, heal and recover, or fail and succumb to various maladies, it has become increasingly important to adapt or devise new methods to identify and obtain these cells in quantity and purity for further study. In Protocols for Adult Stem Cells, expert researchers present a variety of methods for studying five types of clinically-relevant mammalian stems cells: mammary, nerve, skeletal muscle, endothelial and mesenchymal. Culture techniques have been optimized for managing the growth and differentiation of stem cells in vitro; as some stem cells are pluripotent, often the method is to guide the fate of such cells among the possible differentiation fates. Chapters include information that will assist researchers in obtaining, characterizing and studying these cells or adapting them to the stem cells of choice. Composed in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, each chapter contains a brief introduction, step-by-step methods, a list of necessary materials, and a Notes section which shares tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Critical and cutting edge, Protocols for Adult Stem Cells is an essential guide which provides groundbreaking and novel techniques certain to redefine the field of stem cell biology.