Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy - Volume 8, Issue 5, 2013

Notch signaling mediates the fates of numerous cells not only in the nervous system but also in the immune system. Notch signaling contributes to the generation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells, lymphocyte development, and several immune responses. The molecular mechanism of Notch signaling is unique: ligands bind to the extracellular domain of Notch and trigger sequential proteolytic cleavages. F Read More

Cells constitute one of the fundamental components of any cartilage tissue engineering approach. Adipose tissue derived stem cells (ASCs) have a promising future considering the abundance of this tissue in the human body, ease of harness, and the high number of stem cells that can be isolated from small amounts of tissue. However the stromal vascular fraction of the adipose tissue that is isolated upon digestion by coll Read More

Dendritic cells (DC) are important antigen presenting cells (APC) which induce and control the adaptive immune response. In spleen alone, multiple DC subsets can be distinguished by cell surface marker phenotype. Most of these have been shown to develop from progenitors in bone marrow and to seed lymphoid and tissue sites during development. This study advances in vitro methodology for hematopoiesis of dendritic-like Read More

MSCs can be isolated from adult sources such as bone marrow and adipose tissue. In contrast to these adult tissue sources, harvesting MSCs from cord tissue is a non-invasive procedure and poses no risk to the donor. Stem cell banks offer the opportunity to cryopreserve cord tissue as a source of MSCs for future autologous or allogeneic stem cell based regenerative medicine applications. There is little published data ho Read More

Spinal surgery involves the bone-cartilage-neural interface. It is a field of surgery that is rapidly changing and evolving; not only through the development of novel techniques, approaches and devices but also through evidence from large clinical trials assessing indications, efficacy and outcomes. The use of biologics in spine surgery has now become widespread. Biologics in the form of autologous or allogeneic stem cell Read More

Umbilical cord tissue (CT) can provide a virtually unlimited source of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) that can potentially be used in a variety of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications. Cord tissue segments can be frozen and preserved in liquid nitrogen dewars for prolonged periods of time, having been frozen in time at the peak of biological activity. CT stem cells are capable of giving rise to var Read More

Numerous different types of periodontal tissue regeneration therapies have been developed clinically with variable outcomes and serious limitations. A key goal of periodontal therapy is to regenerate the destroyed periodontal tissues including alveolar bone, cementum and periodontal ligament. The critical factors in attaining successful periodontal tissue regeneration are the correct recruitment of cells to the site and t Read More

The extraordinary discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has led to the very real possibility that patient-specific cell therapy can be realized. The potential to develop cell replacement therapies outside the ethical and legal limitations, has initiated a new era of hope for regenerative strategies to treat human neurological disease including stroke. In this article, we will review and compare the current app Read More