Beate Brand-Saberi - Böcker

This textbook describes the biology of different adult stem cell types and outlines the current level of knowledge in the field. It clearly explains the basics of hematopoietic, mesenchymal and cord blood stem cells and also covers induced pluripotent stem cells. Further, it includes a chapter on ethical aspects of human stem cell research, which promotes critical thinking and responsible handling of the material.Based on the international masters program Molecular and Developmental Stem Cell Biology taught at Ruhr-University Bochum and Tongji University Shanghai, the book is a valuable source for postdocs and researchers working with stems cells and also offers essential insights for physicians and dentists wishing to expand their knowledge.This textbook is a valuable complement to Concepts and Applications of Stem Cell Biology, also published in the Learning Materials in Biosciences textbook series.

Muscle development of vertebrates has been a paradigm of cell differentiation for many years. Three types of muscle are found in the vertebrate body: skele- tal, heart and smooth muscle, and there has been a gradient of concern about these different muscle types in the sequence they are mentioned here. Skeletal muscle has received much attention because it can be induced to differentiate in vitro and because of the clinical relevance of myopathies. The discovery of the muscle-specific members of the bHLH and MADS families of transcription factors must be regarded as a breakthrough not only in muscle research and have opened new insights into the genetic control of differentiation. Conse- quently, the effects of gene-targeting of the MyoD-related (myfs) and MEF transcription factors soon became objects of investigation. Along with the genetic control of skeletal and heart muscle development, the temporal-spatial appearance of cells fated to become myocytes has been of foremost interest. The source of all skeletal muscle of the trunk is the paraxial mesoderm, which gives rise to metameric entities, the somites.The somite can be regarded as a turntable of mesodermal cell fates, chondrocytes, fibroblasts, angioblasts of these deriva- and skeletal muscle precursors. The coordinated development tives is tightly controlled by local tissue interactions between embryonic struc- tures such as the neural tube, the notochord, the lateral plate and the ectoderm.

Muscle development of vertebrates has been a paradigm of cell differentiation for many years. Three types of muscle are found in the vertebrate body: skele- tal, heart and smooth muscle, and there has been a gradient of concern about these different muscle types in the sequence they are mentioned here. Skeletal muscle has received much attention because it can be induced to differentiate in vitro and because of the clinical relevance of myopathies. The discovery of the muscle-specific members of the bHLH and MADS families of transcription factors must be regarded as a breakthrough not only in muscle research and have opened new insights into the genetic control of differentiation. Conse- quently, the effects of gene-targeting of the MyoD-related (myfs) and MEF transcription factors soon became objects of investigation. Along with the genetic control of skeletal and heart muscle development, the temporal-spatial appearance of cells fated to become myocytes has been of foremost interest. The source of all skeletal muscle of the trunk is the paraxial mesoderm, which gives rise to metameric entities, the somites.The somite can be regarded as a turntable of mesodermal cell fates, chondrocytes, fibroblasts, angioblasts of these deriva- and skeletal muscle precursors. The coordinated development tives is tightly controlled by local tissue interactions between embryonic struc- tures such as the neural tube, the notochord, the lateral plate and the ectoderm.

This book addresses the differentiation control of skeletal muscle in different locations of the vertebrate body Particular attention is paid to novel regulatory molecules and signals as well as the heterogeneity of origin that have revealed a developmental overlap between skeletal and cardiac muscle. Different functional muscle groups are the product of the evolution of the vertebrate classes, making a phylogenetic comparison worthwhile for understanding the role of muscle stem cells and precursors in myogenesis. New insights into the hierarchy of transcription factors, particularly in the context of these different muscle groups have been gained from detailed investigations of the spatio-temporal and regulatory relationships derived from mouse and zebrafish genetics and avian microsurgery. Importantly, epigenetic mechanisms that have surfaced recently, in particular the role of MyomiRs, are also surveyed. With an eye to the human patient, encouraging results have been generated that identify parallels between embryonic myogenesis and regenerating myofibers due to common regulatory molecules. On the other hand, both processes differ considerably in quality and complexity of the processes employed. Interestingly, the heterogeneity in embryonic sources from which skeletal muscle groups in the vertebrate including the human body take origin is paralleled by differences in their susceptibility to particular muscle dystrophies as well as by the characteristics of the satellite cells involved in regeneration. The progress that has been made in the field of muscle stem cell biology, with special focus on the satellite cells, is outlined in this book by experts in the field. The authors review recent insights of the heterogeneous nature of these satellite cells regarding their gene signatures and regeneration potential. Furthermore, an improved understanding of muscle stem cells seems only possible when we study the impact of the cell environment on efficient stem cell replacement therapies for muscular dystrophies, putting embryological findings from different vertebrate classes and stem cell approaches into context.