Main description:

This fresh addition to the rapidly expanding Springer series on stem cells represents an additional forward step in our understanding of the causes, diagnosis, and cell-related therapies of major human diseases as well as debilitating injuries to human tissue and organs. Showcasing the work of more than 80 contributors from 13 nations, it offers an unrivalled breadth of differing perspectives on the subject, with dedicated sections covering umbilical cord, induced pluripotent, embryonic, and hematopoietic stem cells, in addition to stem cells in tumors and cancer, and the applications of stem cells in regenerative medicine.

Enhanced by numerous color illustrations and tables that provide graphic clarification and summaries of key results, the volume succeeds in bringing together research results from oncologists, neurosurgeons, physicians, research scientists, and pathologists, whose accumulated wealth of practical experience will inform and inspire further developments in the vital and urgent work of cancer diagnosis, cure, and prevention.

Contents:

Prelims

I. Umbilical cord blood stem cells

1. Cryopreservation of hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood for transplantation

2. Expansion of mesenchymal stem cells derived from umbilical cord in media containing human serum (method)

3. Transformation of human umbilical cord blood cells to support neuro-regeneration in the diseased brain

4. Clinical application of umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells for tissue regeneration

II. Induced pluripotent stem cells

5. Differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells into denndrocytes: increased efficiency of selecting oligodendrocyte precursor cells using a2b5 monoclonal antibody

6. Epigenetic reprogramming without genetic modification: use of sendai virus vectors for generating safe induced pluripotent stem cells

7. Differentiation and use of cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells

8. Metabolism in cancer cells and pluripotent stem cells

9. Treatment of patients with long- qt syndrome: differentiation of patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells into functional cardiac myocytes

III. Embryonic stem cells

10. Protein kinase c signaling in embryonic stem cell self renewal and cardiac differentiation

11. Maintenance of pluripotency in mouse embryonic stem cells with micrornas

12. Uni-directional neuronal differentiation of embryonic stem cells by the neural stem sphere method

13. Embryonic stem cell-derived motoneurons develop aberrant axonal sprouting

IV. Hematopoietic stem cells

14. Crucial role of the polycomb group gene product bmi-1 in the maintenance of self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells

15. Hematopoietic stem cell function and skeletal formation: positive role of hemp gene

16. Relationship between radiosensitivity of human neonatal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and individual maternal/neonatal obstetric factors

V. Stem cells in tumors and cancer

17. Diagnosis of primary and metastatic germ cell tumors using embryonic stem cell transcription factors

18. Novel internalizing human antibodies targeting brain tumor sphere cells

19. Use of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells as tumor specific delivery vehicles

20. Cd34+/ac133+ endothelial progentior cells as imaging probes for neovascularization of tumors

21. Intestinal stem cells: from homeostasis to cancer

22. Cancer stem cells and modeling cancer in the mouse

23. Is cd44 a marker for cancer stem cells?

24. Nk-92 cytotoxicity against cancer stem cells in hematologic malignancies

25. Cancer stem cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

26. Cancer stem cell antigens from autologous tumor cell lines in patient-specific active immunotherapy for metastatic cancer

27. Safe resection of hemangioblastoma using indocyanine green videoangiography

28. Overcoming chemotherapy resistance by targeting hyalurona/cd44- mediated stem cell marker (nanog) signaling and microrna-21 in breast, ovarian, and head and neck cancer

VI. Stem cells for regenerative medicine

29. Urinary bladder regenerative medicine30. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: role of extracellular matrix microenvironment

Index.