Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells, Volume 8: Therapeutic Applications in Disease and Injury

It is my hope that subsequent volumes of the series will join this volume in assisting in the more complete understanding of the causes, diagnosis, and cell-based treatment of major human diseases and debilitating tissue/organ injuries. There exists a tremendous, urgent demand by the public and the scientific community to address to cancer diagnosis, treatment, cure, and hopefully prevention. Stem Cells are nature’s indispensable gift to multicellular organisms, including humans. The contents of the volume are divided into six subheadings: Stem Cell Culture, Bone Marrow Stem Cells, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Reprogramming and Differentiation of Stem Cells, Treatment, and Transplantation for the convenience of the readers.

This eighth volume in the essential Springer series of cutting-edge contributions in stem cell and cancer stem cell research features the work of 85 authors based in more than a dozen nations. It provides scientists in this vital field with the latest data and techniques, enhancing our knowledge base of the causes, diagnosis, and cell-based treatment of major human diseases including cancer, as well as therapies targeting debilitating injuries to human tissue and organs. The volume’s six sections are arranged thematically, covering stem cell culture, bone marrow stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, the reprogramming and differentiation of stem cells, treatments, and transplantation.

The information has been submitted by a range of experts working at the leading edge of the field, including oncologists, neurosurgeons, physicians, research scientists and pathologists. They cover a formidable array of topics and offer differing scientific perspectives on specific, and in some cases highly controversial, aspects of cancer treatment and tissue regeneration. The section on stem cell culture includes information on developing defined culture conditions for expanding mesenchymal stromal cells in preparation for clinical applications. The importance of optimization of culture conditions and conservation of natural three-dimensional cell shape and morphology is pointed out because they are critical factors in maintaining cell phenotype and controlling differentiation. Regarding bone marrow stem cells, researchers share data on the gene expression profiling of myelodysplastic stem cells; the section on reprogramming and differentiation features the latest research focusing on epigenetic modifiers. This essential volume, like its companions in the series, is required reading for academics and physicians who need with keep up to the speed in a fast-developing field with unrivalledpotential for overcoming some of mankind’s most intractable and devastating pathologies.