This comprehensive review of our current understanding of adult stem cell types and their regulation examines the derivation, characterization, and utility of adult stem cells found in skeletal muscle, dental pulp, prostate, kidney, the eye, inner ear, and other tissues. The authors pay special attention to adult stem cell plasticity and their utility in normal tissue homeostasis, as well as their applications in regenerative medicine.

Studies on stem cells have been attracting intense scientific and p- lic attention, not only because of controversies surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells but also because of very provocative data that have been emerging on adult stem cells. Much of the public attention and debate has been focused on the possibility that adult stem cells may be used as a substitute for human embryonic stem cells or as a justification for stopping work on them. This has somewhat dim- ished attention on very heated scientific debates that take us to the very heart of how the concept of stem cells is perceived. To this author, the latter debates have not been unlike certain philosophical debates of the last century. Since the seminal studies of Till and McCulloch in the 1960s, the popular paradigm on adult stem cells has been that lineage-restricted stem cells are derived from pluripotent stem cells very early during development. To many, and consistent with much data, the restriction to particular lineages was considered absolute. In other words, there was a sense of determinism in the stem quality of particular stem cells: once they were allocated, they were programmed to specific roles in a given tissue. Furthermore, some adult tissues were considered devoid of detectable stem cell presence or activity.

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Klappentext
Recent years have seen ever increasing interest in the discovery of adult stem cells and the elucidation of their properties. During this time, much basic research has been carried out, with the results now clearly holding high promise for regenerative medicine. In Adult Stem Cells, a worldwide cohort of distinguished investigators critically reviews these many studies to produce a state-of-the-art understanding of adult stem cell types and their regulation. These authors examine the derivation, characterization, and utility of adult stem cells found in skeletal muscle, dental pulp, prostate, kidney, the eye, inner ear, and other tissues. They pay special attention to adult stem cell plasticity and their utility in normal tissue homeostasis, as well as their applications in regenerative medicine. Detailed discussions allow ready comparisons among the models and approaches used for each tissue and cell type covered.
Comprehensive and state-of-the-art, Adult Stem Cells not only illuminates for both experienced and novice investigators the nature, culture, and potentiality of adult stem cells, but also enhances productive exploration of their rapidly growing applications in regenerative medicine.

Inhalt
1 • Adult Stem Cell Plasticity.- 2 • Spermatogonial Stem Cells.- 3 • Stem Cells in Skeletal Muscle.- 4 • Gene Therapy Using Muscle-Derived Stem Cells.- 5 • Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells: Characterization and Developmental Potential.- 6 • Epithelial Stem/Progenitor Cells in Thymus Organogenesis.- 7 • Adult Liver Stem Cells.- 8 • Endothelial Progenitor Cells.- 9 • Prostate Epithelial Stem Cells.- 10 • Mammary Epithelial Stem Cells.- 11 • From Marrow to Brain.- 12 • Adult Retinal Stem Cells.- 13 • Multipotentiality of Iris Pigment Epithelial Cells in Vertebrate Eye.- 14 • Stem Cell Biology of the Inner Ear and Potential Therapeutic Applications.- 15 • Engineering the In Vitro Cellular Microenvironment for the Control and Manipulation of Adult Stem Cell Responses.- 16 • Stem Cells As Common Ancestors: Somatic Cell Phylogenies From Somatic Sequence Alterations.