Burgess - Stem cells a short course

Rob Burgess

Copyright 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.

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ISBN: 978-1-118-43919-7

To my wife, Jane, daughter, Zoie, son, Bobby, mother, Lola, and father, Bob

My justification for writing this book comes from a thorough review of the scientific literature currently published in the area of stem cell research. While an enormous body of knowledge exists in this field, there has yet to be a comprehensive college-level textbook that thoroughly and properly addresses the material in a manner that allows for the student to grasp, retain, and get excited about the discipline. Many works highlight unique or ground-breaking findings or delve into the broader concept of stem cell identity, function, and usefulness to man, yet they do not address the field with the all-inclusive effort needed to give the student a strong understanding of the need for stem cell research. Second, most literary works in the area of stem cell research gloss over or fail to drive home key specific findings, definitions, concepts, and details that are required to give the student a thorough understanding of stem cells and their impact on therapeutics and medicine. Third, when key stem cell research and discoveries are described in teaching materials, the researchers involved are often not mentioned or given the proper credit for their findings. Thus, I have compiled a breakdown of stem cell research that highlights the history behind the discipline, emergent groundbreaking findings such as the discovery of embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotency, and given credit where credit is due. Within the body of each chapter, I have included Focus Boxes on key researchers and Case Studies highlighting seminal findings in stem cell research. For each Focus Box or Case Study, I have tried to provide an example of a true leader in the field or groundbreaking study. To ensure that the student absorbs the material at the end of each chapter, I have included a detailed summary of the text, key terms, review questions, and all cited references. The key term definitions and answers to select review questions can be found at the website www.stemcelltextbook.com. It is highly encouraged that the professors utilize the summaries, key terms, and review questions as study materials and ask students to periodically review the corresponding website for continuously updated information related to this text in particular and to the field of stem cell research in general.

The book is organized into eight chapters that gradually step from the history of stem cell research to the basic concepts behind cell culture, key stem cell-related findings, and applications of stem cells in drug discovery and therapy. Key topics I have addressed include:

1. The history, early studies, and the rapid advancement of the field of stem cell research
2. The basic requirements for a cell to be considered stem in nature
3. Types of stem cells and their capacities to differentiate into various mature lineages
4. Breakthroughs in early stem cell-based therapeutics endeavors
5. The differences between embryonic and adult stem cells at the basic and translational research levels
6. Induced pluripotency
7. Implications of stem cells on diagnostics and drug screening efforts
8. Stem cell-based cloning and its ethical considerations

Chapter 1 begins with an overview of the first concrete contemplation of the existence of stem cells in the early 1900s, and how that hypothesis rapidly evolved into accepted theory. It transitions by slowly introducing the concept of stemness via seminal discoveries in hematopoiesis, mouse, and human embryonic development, and even iPS technology. Optimization of cell culture conditions for various stem cell types and advances in cloning that utilizes stem cells as source material are also discussed. There is also a special section on reproductive verses. therapeutic cloning outlining the discovery of Dolly the sheep. Several examples of the use of stem cells as possible therapeutic regimens, such as for spinal cord injury repair, are also described. The chapter closes with a briefing on the limitations of stem cells in therapeutics due to immunorejection and efforts to save endangered species through iPS cell manipulation.

Chapter 2 transitions from the history of stem cell research and seminal findings discussed in Chapter 1 to how these studies were carried out. With an emphasis on historical discoveries and advancements, it reviews and describes key derived cell lines such a Hela cells and outlines the early refinement of general cell culture techniques. An important example described in this context is the discovery of hybridoma technology. Basic cell culture technology is expanded upon to describe the optimal conditions needed to either maintain stem cell pluripotency or drive differentiation towards one or more particular cellular fates. A basic overview of vertebrate embryonic development also provides a foundation for the next section, which is an outline and description of the basic various potency properties of stem cells. The most widely studied types of stem cells are also discussed, with particular attention paid to embryonic stem cellsgiven the recent advancements in, and controversy surrounding, this field of research. Signaling and transcriptional control pathways regulating stem cell fate are also described for each major stem cell type as they apply to cell culture applications. The chapter concludes with a brief introduction to stem cells as therapeutic or drug discovery medical platforms.