Frontiers in Stem Cell Treatments
A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2013) | Viewed by 107694
Special Issue Editor
Interests: biology of adult stem cells; tissue engineering; cell transplantation protocols; immunology of allogeneic cell transplantation; gene therapy; cell-based gene delivery; regulation of differentiation; mechanisms of engraftment and homing of transplanted stem cells; stem cell plasticity
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
There has been a great deal of interest in recent years in the use of stem cells in the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases and many predictions have been made which suggest that the future practice of medicine will rely heavily on applications in stem cell technology. There has been steady progress in understanding the biological nature of stem cells, their isolation and expansion, and how they make fate decisions. One of the most significant steps has been the demonstration that mature somatic cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent. Indeed, the development of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology has opened doors into an extraordinary world of new understanding and clinical potential. This great achievement has been justly recognized by the award of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka.
In addition to progress in understanding the fundamental nature of stem cells, there has also been an explosion of preclinical studies. These have been overwhelmingly positive and have, in study after study, pointed to the therapeutic promise of stem cells. They have taught us about the potential roles of stem cells in tissue regeneration, modulation of the immune system and paracrine mechanisms to stimulate a host response. Nonetheless, the clinical testing of stem cells in controlled, randomized trials has moved at a slow pace and for some the proof of concept is yet to be fully delivered.
There are many obstacles on the road to clinical testing, not least being an understanding of toxicology, mechanism of action and large scale expansion. The current special issue is designed to examine the clinical potential of stem cell therapy and provide a timely update on the current status of clinical trials.
Prof. Dr. Frank Barry
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- stem cells
- regenerative medicine
- clinical trials
- immunomodulation
- paracrine effects
- pluripotency
- mesenchymal stem cells
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