Stem Cells in the Lung / Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (PDF)

This comprehensive overview of endogenous lung stem and progenitor cell organization and regulation in fetal lung development, postnatal lung growth and adulthood deftly compiles and explores the current body of research. Progressing stage by stage, the chapters on fetal lung development emphasize the integrated role of epithelial, stromal, vascular and neural cell elements in building a functional lung, while the subsequent chapters on adult lung regeneration describe the nature and properties of adult lung stem/progenitor cells distributed along the proximal-distal axis of the airway tree. The chapters on regulation of lung regeneration and repair discuss how regenerative cells interact with their niche microenvironment and how regulation of lung regeneration and repair in the steady state and following injury recapitulates ontogeny. And, lastly, the chapters on cellular therapies for lung disease and bioengineering the lung focus on promising emerging therapies and approaches in lung regenerative medicine.

The scope of this volume of the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine series focuses on exploring the topic of building and rebuilding the lung from a cellular rather than a molecular perspective. All of the contributors are working at the cutting edge of the lung stem cell field, making Stem Cells in the Lung essential reading for those with an interest in the field of lung stem cell biology and the potential role of cellular therapies and tissue bioengineering approaches in lung regenerative medicine, including biomedical scientists, graduate students, post-graduate researchers and respiratory clinicians.