The application of molecular technology to the heart opens a new and promising avenue for both the study and cure of heart diseases that were once thought to be incurable. In Molecular Cardiology: Methods and Protocols, leading cardiac researchers from around the world describe in detail their own proven, cutting-edge techniques for gene therapy and stem cell therapy for heart diseases. The authors provide readily reproducible methods for genetic dissection, signal transduction, and microarray analysis. The protocols include techniques for gene transfer to heart tissue using viral and nonviral vectors, the basis for gene therapy of heart diseases, and for producing transgenic models of heart diseases, the novel and powerful tools for the study of heart disease pathogenesis. Many of the protocols employ not only molecular and cell biology techniques, but also in vivo approaches to myocardial repair using different types of stem cells, and include methods for expansion, purification, and genetic modification of stem cells. The protocols offer step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principle behind the technique, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Authoritative and highly practical, Molecular Cardiology: Methods and Protocols offers basic and clinical researchers the first major collection of the state-of-the-art molecular and cell biology techniques for the study and treatment of genetic and acquired heart diseases.