Stem Cells as In Vitro Models of Disease
1Centre for Neuroscience and Department of Pharmacology, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street and Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, Australia
2Department of Zoology, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street and Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, Australia
3Department of Clinical Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lund University, BMC-C14, 221 85 Lund, Sweden
4Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Science (iCeMS), Kyoto University, Yoshida-Ushinomiya-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Stem Cells as In Vitro Models of Disease
Description
Over the last thirty years, medical sciences have made tremendous leaps forward in our ability to isolate, derive, and generate stem cells from the body. Stem cells have been identified and isolated from tissues that were previously thought to be nonregenerative, such as from the adult nervous system. Furthermore, we are now able to generate pluripotent stem cells from human somatic cells. The capacity to isolate and generate stem cells from human tissue has created novel opportunities for their use in regenerative medicine. In addition to their potential use in transplantation, it is becoming more apparent that stem cells can also serve as useful in vitro models to investigate pathogenic processes, since stem cells can now be derived from diseased tissue.
In this special issue, we welcome review and original papers of how different types of stem cells are studied within the context of understanding disease cellular mechanisms. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Derivation and differentiation of pluripotent/multipotent stem cells from human-diseased tissues
- Multipotent stem cells derived animal models of disease
- Genetic manipulation of stem cells to generate a diseased state
- Differentiation and maturation of stem cells to generate disease state in vitro
Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/sci/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: