Stem Cells: Past, Present, and Future
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Physiology and Pathology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 October 2023) | Viewed by 456
Special Issue Editors
Interests: stem cells; 3D spheroids of adipose stem cells; bioprinting; nanotechnologies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: cartilage tissue engineering; mesenchymal stem cells; osteoarthritis; articular cartilage morphology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Stem cells are unspecialized immature cells of the human body that are able to generate a single specialized tissue, multiple tissues or the whole organism. They have specific characteristics, as well as self-renewal and differentiation capabilities, and exist both in embryo and adult organisms. In 1909, Alexander A. Maximow was the first researcher to discuss stem cells and the term "stem" (i.e., stem, trunk), which was used by Charles Darwin and subsequently by Ernst Haeckel, who associated the term "stammzelle" both with the single-cell organism and the fertilized egg cell. In the following decades, the term “stem” continued to be used in embryological studies as well as studies associated with several diseases. In recent years, stem cells have gained impressive attention both in tumor biology, where cancer growth is shown to be driven by stem-cell-like behavior, and in regenerative medicine, where stem cells are fundamental in the reparation and regeneration processes. Today, stem cells are studied and used in medicine as targets of pharmacological testing, in cell-based therapies, in transplants, and more. The genesis of stem cells in research laboratories is followed by several steps of controlled stem cell isolation and culturing. Two‐dimensional (2D) cell cultures have been extensively used to investigate stem cell biology, but evidence from the literature shows that the 2D model may not properly represent the potential and the intrinsic features of these cells. Conversely, three‐dimensional (3D) cultures exhibit genic and protein expression patterns that are more representative of their in vivo condition. Discovering the molecular mechanism behind self-renewal and regenerative properties, as well as understanding the signals that trigger each step of the differentiation process and the correct manipulation of stem cells, may enable scientists to use them in biomedical research and therapeutics development. In the near future, stem cells might be used in different clinical applications with innovative studies and techniques, such as the use of bioprinters and bioreactors capable of mimicking the in vivo body environment and aiding ad personam organ or tissue replacement.
In this Special Issue of Life, we focus our attention on the latest discoveries and developments in stem cell biology and provide a comprehensive update to the literature accessible to scientists in the field. Thus, we wish to invite investigators from basic, clinical, and translational research or closely related disciplines to contribute original articles, reviews, communications, and concept papers.
Dr. Anna Barbara Di Stefano
Dr. Marta Anna Szychlinska
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- stem cell biology
- cancer stem cells
- mesenchymal stem cells
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- 3D cultures
- cell-based therapies
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