Stem Cells

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XI

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2. Factors Involved in Self-Renewal and Pluripotency of Embryonic Stem Cells

   • H. Darr, N. Benvenisty

   Pages 1-19

3. Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Embryoid Bodies: An In Vitro Model of Eutherian Pregastrulation Development and Early Gastrulation

   • G. Weitzer

   Pages 21-51

4. Embryonic Stem Cells: A Novel Tool for the Study of Antiangiogenesis and Tumor-Induced Angiogenesis

   • M. Wartenberg, F. Dönmez, P. Budde, H. Sauer

   Pages 53-71

5. Cardiac Repair by Embryonic Stem-Derived Cells

   • M. Rubart, L.J. Field

   Pages 73-100

6. Cardiomyocytes from Human Embryonic Stem Cells

   • R. Passier, C. Denning, C. Mummery

   Pages 101-122

7. Autocrine and Intracrine Signaling for Cardiogenesis in Embryonic Stem Cells: A Clue for the Development of Novel Differentiating Agents

   • C. Ventura, A. Branzi

   Pages 123-146

8. Therapeutic Potential of Stem Cells in Diabetes

   • E. Roche, R. Enseñat-Waser, J.A. Reig, J. Jones, T. León-Quinto, B. Soria

   Pages 147-167

9. The Stem Cell Continuum: A New Model of Stem Cell Regulation

   • P.J. Quesenberry, G.A. Colvin, M.S. Dooner

   Pages 169-183

10. Markers of Adult Tissue-Based Stem Cells

    • M.R. Alison, M. Brittan, M.J. Lovell, N.A. Wright

    Pages 185-227

11. Designer Cytokines for Human Haematopoietic Progenitor Cell Expansion: Impact for Tissue Regeneration

    • S. Rose-John

    Pages 229-247

12. Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Isolation, In Vitro Expansion and Characterization

    • N. Beyer Nardi, L. da Silva Meirelles

    Pages 249-282

13. Neovascularization and Cardiac Repair by Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells

    • C. Badorff, S. Dimmeler

    Pages 283-298

14. The Potential Use of Myogenic Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine

    • G. Grenier, M.A. Rudnicki

    Pages 299-317

15. Neural Stem Cells: On Where They Hide, in Which Disguise, and How We May Lure Them Out

    • B. Berninger, M.A. Hack, M. Götz

    Pages 319-360

16. Cell Transplantation for Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

    • G. Paul

    Pages 361-388

17. Postmodern Biology: (Adult) (Stem) Cells Are Plastic, Stochastic, Complex, and Uncertain

    • N.D. Theise, R. Harris

    Pages 389-408

18. Back Matter

    Pages 409-414

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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 breakthrough and the subsequent generation of specialized human cells in vitro led to a paradigm shift within the sci- ti?c community, which transformed this specialized endeavour from a topic of scienti?c interest to a line of investigation with the potential to generate cells - pable of treating serious ailments, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. Thus the dawn of regenerative medicine has spawned from the somewhat esoteric study of stem cells. Since 1998, extensive research endeavours have been devoted to the study of both embryonic and adult stem cells. Early reports suggested that adult stem cells had a higher plasticity than previously believed, perhaps even comparable with that demonstrated by embryonic stem cells, but several observations of the so-called transdifferentiation capacity and plasticity of adult stem cells have not been repeated. These reports, however, encouraged on-going debates about the capacity of adult versus embryonic stem cells and their potential use in regenerative medicine.

• In Vitro Differentiation Group, Dept. of Cytogenetics, Leibnitz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany

  Anna M. Wobus

• Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, Gerontology Research Program, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, USA

  Kenneth R. Boheler

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