Preface

The ninth volume of ‘Frontiers in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research’ presents important recent developments in this fast growing field.

Hasan and Wu review the current literature on the utility of exogenous and endogenous neural stem cells in spinal cord injury. Miguel et al. focus on the various sources of somatic cells for human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) generation, their characterization, and the progress on directed differentiation toward several cell types.

Cell signaling and redox reactions are involved in the regulation of neural-lineage cells for reprograming of adipose-derived stem cells. Abrahamse et al. discuss the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ROS mediated cellular signaling for differentiation of stem cells.

The human skin represents the largest and most accessible part of the body that is exposed to infections, physical wounds, diseases etc. Titorencu et al. describe commercially available skin substitutes that are in demand and also described the use of stem cells for skin regeneration. Recently, the role of microRNA in cardiac conduction diseases, arrhythmogenesis and their therapeutic potential has caught the attention of researchers. Sankaranarayanan et al. have reviewed the role of miRNAs in cardiac rhythmic disorders and their potential in diagnosis and treatment. Finally, Rivera et al. discuss the use of stem cell therapy in the treatment of malaria.

We owe our special thanks to all the contributors for their valuable contribution in bringing together the ninth volume of this book series. We also thank the editorial staff of Bentham Science Publishers for their help and support.