Stem cells and regenerative medicine

The ability to make embryonic stem cells from human cells allowed us to examine early developmental events and study human disease with human models. In the short span of a decade, over 150 lines are now available in the embryonic stem cell registry maintained by the US government [1].The remarkable discovery that an embryonic stem cell-like state can be induced in virtually every adult cell type changed the way we consider doing experiments. Ever since the remarkable discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells by Takahashi and Yamanaka [2], the field has continued to evolve - with exciting discoveries furthering our understanding of early development, the process of cellular reprogramming, acquisition and maintenance of pluripotency, the determination of cell fate, and enhancing our ability to model diseases in vitro [3]. These advances coupled with parallel advances in gene engineering and gene targeting have allowed for an unprecedented ability to manipulate, perturb and thereby understand human development [4,5].The remarkable pace of development is reflected in the speed with which discoveries are moving from the bench to the bedside [6,7]. In just about a decade, two companies have obtained US Food and Drug Administration approval to conduct cell-based trials with human embryonic stem cell-derived cells, and a much larger number of trials have commenced with adult stem cells. Screening with primary cells derived from embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells has begun, and several groups have described the generation of disease-specific or rescued lines and have shown that panels of lines can be generated [8].We felt it was important to provide a common forum where such translational studies could be discussed in a single place. Stem Cell Research and Therapy therefore invited a series of articles that highlight the rapid pace of advance and illustrate the breadth and range of the efforts that are in progress.In the present issue you will see thre