Significant research activities in the tissue engineering or regenerative medicine (the term recently used) field started in the 1970s, and there is currently great excitement over the possibility of replacing damaged body parts through regenerative medicine. Potential strategies to replace, repair and restore the function of damaged tissues or organs include stem cell transplantation, transplantation of tissues engineered in the laboratory, and the induction of regeneration by the body's own cells. It is believed that novel cellular therapeutics outperform any medical device, recombinant protein or chemical compound.

This volume explores novel stem cell therapeutic strategies for myriad diseases, including renal failure, retinal disease and myocardial infarction.

Contents:

• The Biology of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (C Westwood & M O Clements)
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells: From Culture to Clinic (C A Gregory)
• Stem Cell Bioprocessing for Clinical Applications of Regenerative Medicine (A Mantalaris et al.)
• Defining and Overcoming the Immunological Barriers to Stem Cell Therapies (N J Robertson et al.)
• Activation of the Immune System: A Corollary of Transplantation with ES Cell-Derived Tissues (A S Boyd et al.)
• Suppression of HLA Expression by Lentivirus-Mediated Gene Transfer of siRNA Cassettes (N Kasahara)
• Cord Blood Cells for Myocardial Regeneration (C Stamm & M Nan)
• Clinical Trials in Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy: An Update (R Kam & I Dimarakis)
• Stem Cell Therapy in Neurodegenerative Disease (C T Flores & M Y Gordon)
• Adult Human Stem Cell Therapy for Ischemic Stroke (D Williamson et al.)
• Cell Therapy in Renal Disease (H D Humes)
• Regenerative Medicine of the Eye: A Short Review (D T Harris et al.)
• A Clearer View of Stem Cells in Retinal Disease (M D Hodges et al.)
• Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells: Biology and Therapeutic Potential (M Notara et al.)
• The Use of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Bone and Cartilage Repair (R Behan et al.)