Exosomes, Prp, And Stem Cells In Musculoskeletal

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.

Signi?cant advances in stem cell research and their potentials for therap- tic applications have attracted the attention of the scienti?c community and captured the imagination of society as a whole. Not so long ago, the study of most stem cells, other than those that regenerated the haematopoietic system, was rather obscure and limited to a relatively small number of researchers and laboratories. The uproar over stem cells really began in 1998 with the s- cessful derivation of pluripotent human embryonic stem (ES) cells by James Thomson and co-workers.

This book represents an updated overview on selected topics related to mesenchymal stem cells as well as induced pluripotent stem cells.

First of all, the editors of this special volume would like to thank all the authors for their excellent contributions. We would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheper as well as Dr.Marion Hertel and Ingrid Samide fromSpringer for providing the opportunity to compose this volume and Springer for organizational and technical support. Tissue engineering represents one of the major emerging fields in modern biotechnology. Tissue engineering combines different disciplines ranging from biological and material sciences to engineering and clinical disciplines. The aim of tissue engineering is the development of therapeutic approaches to substitute diseased organs or tissues or improve their function. Stem cells are early progenitors that may substitute diseased tissues or provide cues for endogenous healing. Stem cells are present in virtually all tissues. The first chapters describe different sources of stem cells including isolation and expansion. The use of fetal tissues and umbilical cord is discussed as they come from immunoprivileged sites and are considered to be early stem cells. The use of adipose-derived stem cells is discussed as a readily available autologous source. Subsequently, newer techniques for “manufacturing” stem cells from somatic cells using “induced pluripotent stem cell” technology are discussed and described in two chapters. The following chapter deals with bioreactor cultivation of stem cells. Specific tissues such as cartilage and endothelial precursors built the bridge to the last chapters.