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Stem Cells: Are They Pertinent to My Research?

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Success in Academic Surgery: Basic Science

Part of the book series: Success in Academic Surgery ((SIAS))

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Abstract

Stem cells are a long-lived population of small round cells possessing two remarkable and distinct characteristics, immortality and pluripotency. These two characteristic properties are inherent in “stemness”: (1) immortality is the capacity for indefinite self-renewal, which is duplication or regeneration without the loss of developmental potential, and (2) pluripotency is the ability to differentiate into all the tissues of the adult body. So stem cells can replicate via mitotic division while retaining their undifferentiated state or differentiate into lineage-specific cells. The promise of stem cells now spans a multitude of fields with therapeutic applications for numerous diseases. Major areas of applications include reversal of target organ injury, reversal of senescence for end organ disease, targeting the cancer stem cell to reverse chemoresistance, and corrections for genetic and birth defects.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA

    Anne C. Fischer MD, PhD

  2. Department of Surgery, Beaumont Children’s Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA

    Anne C. Fischer MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Anne C. Fischer MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Anne C. Fischer MD, PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Surgery, Vice Chair of Research, Edward G. Elcock Professor of Surgical Research, Department of Surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, and Co-Chief, Peripheral Vascular Surgery, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Melina R. Kibbe

  2. Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, and Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Texas Heart Institute, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA

    Scott A. LeMaire

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Fischer, A.C. (2014). Stem Cells: Are They Pertinent to My Research?. In: Kibbe, M., LeMaire, S. (eds) Success in Academic Surgery: Basic Science. Success in Academic Surgery. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4736-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4736-7_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-4735-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-4736-7

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