Madonna Rosalinda (ed.) Stem Cells and Cardiac Regeneration

Springer, 2016. — 216 p. — ISBN: 978-3-319-25425-8.Ischemic heart disease (IHD) and heart failure (HF) are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in Europe and worldwide. IHD and HF patients could benefit from therapies that would accelerate natural processes of postnatal collateral vessel formation and/or muscle regeneration. Although treatment for acute myocardial infarction has improved over the past decades, there are currently no effective therapies for the associated problem of IHD and HF. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are required in order to reduce the extent of myocardial infarction, preserve cardiac function, and improve clinical outcomes in patients with IHD. The purpose of this book is to provide an update of recent advances in the basic and clinical applications of cell-based therapies for myocardial repair and regeneration in IHD and HF. In this book, cardiologist clinicians and scientists will have an opportunity to learn about the potential of multipotent and pluripotent stem cells and all stem cell-based regenerative therapies, aimed at treating these diseases. The first and second parts of the book cover the basic aspects of stem cells, while subsequent sections will be more dedicated to the clinical application of stem cells for the treatment of IHD and HF. In particular, Chaps. 1–4 provide defi nitions, isolation criteria, and characterization of embryonic and adult stem cells, as well as pluripotent stem cells and tissue- specifi c progenitor and stem cells (including adipose, bone, lung, brain, blood, heart tissues). Chapters 5–9 examine the role of critical regulators of stem cell differentiation in myocardial regeneration that include circadian rhythms, microRNAs, epigenetics, microvesicles, and exosomes. Chapter 10 assesses the infl uence of cell delivery routes and injectable biomaterials on the engraftment and effi cacy of transplanted stem cells. Finally, Chap. 11 critically reviews the use of stem/progenitor cells in cardiac regeneration and discusses current controversies, unresolved issues, challenges, and future directions.
The book is the result of collaborative efforts from all members of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Cellular Biology of the Heart and different investigators in the stem cell research fi eld around the world. I would like to thank all authors for their contributions.