Stem Cell Genetics for Biomedical Research

This book looks at where stem cell technology is presently and how it is instrumentalin advancing the field of disease modeling and cell transplantation. By focusing onmajor human disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and heart disorders, thebook summarizes the major findings in the field of human stem cells and dissectthe current limitations on our understanding of stem cells biology. The chaptersfocus on the genetics, genomics, epigenetics and physiology of stem cells models,together with technological advances on molecular biology such as CRISPR/Cas9 orepigenetic editing, that will be instrumental in the future of human disease modelingand treatment. In base of the limitations of current disease models and in front of the unmet necessityof finding therapeutical interventions for human disorders, the availability of stemcell technology has opened new doors for several fields. The unlimited self-renewalcapacity and more extensive differentiation potential of stem cells offers a theoreticallyinexhaustible and replenishable source of any cell subtype. Since Professor ShinyaYamanaka described it, 10 years ago in his seminal paper, that somatic cells could bereprogrammed to inducible stem cells (iPSC) just by expressing four transcriptionfactors, the field of has exploded, especially its applications in biomedical research.