Adult Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine: From Cell Fate to Clinical Applications

During the last decade, stem cell therapy has emerged as a potential treatment for many devastating and incurable diseases. Currently, the most commonly used human adult stem cells in research and clinical applications are hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Due to their multilineage differentiation and ability to secrete various potent bioactive molecules, HSCs and MSCs have great potential to ameliorate tissue malfunction by either generating new functional cells or releasing soluble factors that reduce inflammation, increase cell viability and enhance tissue regeneration in the diseased or degenerated organs. Recently, human epidermal stem cells (EPSCs) has become an attractive cell source for skin regeneration, attributable to its high accessibility. EPSCs can give rise to differentiated epidermal cell lineages, including keratinocytes, hairs, and sebocytes, which could make up the whole skin. However, there are still several limitations associated with the use of HSCs, MSCs and EPSCs in regenerative medicine, including: (i) the insufficient amount of high quality adult stem cells that could be obtained and expanded in vitro; (ii) ineffective differentiation of adult stem cells toward desirable functional cell types; (iii) the significant variation in types and amount of soluble factors released from various sources; and (iv) the poorly defined interactions between stem cells and various microenvironmental components in the target tissues. Therefore, to fully exploit the great potentials of these adult stem cell types, the precise mechanisms underlying their temporal and spatial regulation as well as posttranslational regulation during their self-renewal and differentiation must be unraveled and the culture condition that can be effectively used to expand and regulate their differentiation toward specific lineages have to be optimized.

This Research Topic aims to gain novel insights from experts in this field that describe the regulatory mechanisms of proliferation and differentiation of adult stem cells such as HSCs, MSCs and EPSCs, as well as their interactions with various microenvironmental components. This Research Topic will include original research and review articles summarizing the current status, challenges, and emerging trends.

We invite investigators to contribute original research and review articles in the topics include, but are not limited to:

• Human MSCs derived from various sources, including bone marrow, adipose tissue, gestational tissues, pluripotent stem cells, etc.
• Human HSCs derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood or pluripotent stem cells
• Differentiation of HSCs toward specific hematopoietic lineages
• Differentiation of MSCs toward clinically useful cell types, such as bone, cartilage, adipose tissue, etc.
• Differentiation of EPSCs toward mini-organs in the skin, such as hair follicles, sebaceous gland, etc.
• Characterization of HSCs, MSCs and EPSCs secretomes
• Therapeutic effects of HSCs, MSCs and EPSCs in both in vitro and in vivo models
• MicroRNAs, exosomes, or other molecules involving in the therapeutic effects of HSCs and MSCs
• Interaction between HSCs, MSCs and EPSCs and their respective microenvironmental components
• Human EPSCs markers characterization and self-renewal and differentiation regulatory mechanisms
• Application of human EPSCs in regenerative medicine
• Human EPSCs cells derived from embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells
• The use of HSCs, MSCs and EPSCs in drug development and preclinical studies