Protocols for Adult Stem Cells

By: Song Li and Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff and Irina M. Conboy and David V. Schaffer

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Synopsis: The study of adult stem cells has surged in recent years. Because they are responsible for the body's natural ability to fight diseases, heal and recover, or fail and succumb to various maladies, it has become increasingly important to adapt or devise new methods to identify and obtain these cells in quantity and purity for further study. In Protocols for Adult Stem Cells, expert researchers present a variety of methods for studying five types of clinically-relevant mammalian stems cells: mammary, nerve, skeletal muscle, endothelial and mesenchymal. Culture techniques have been optimized for managing the growth and differentiation of stem cells in vitro; as some stem cells are pluripotent, often the method is to guide the fate of such cells among the possible differentiation fates. Chapters include information that will assist researchers in obtaining, characterizing and studying these cells or adapting them to the stem cells of choice. Composed in the highly successful Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series format, each chapter contains a brief introduction, step-by-step methods, a list of necessary materials, and a Notes section which shares tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Critical and cutting edge, Protocols for Adult Stem Cells is an essential guide which provides groundbreaking and novel techniques certain to redefine the field of stem cell biology.