Almost daily, new technologies are being presented that move the field of human pluripotent stem cell research towards a future that may yield highly-effective, personalized medical treatments. Three enabling technologies at hand for human PSCs are 1) directed reprogramming of somatic cells, which eliminate many of the ethical issues associated with the derivation and use of human PSCs, increase genetic diversity of the available human PSC lines, and give rise to better
in vitro
human disease models; 2) the discovery that a Rho-associated protein Kinase (ROCK) inhibitor allows for efficient single cell passaging and cryopreservation, increasing the efficiency and reliability of hPSC culture; and 3) defined, animal-component-free media, which lay the groundwork for simplified scale-up for therapeutic applications, differentiation prools, and toxicology screens. The aforementioned technologies can be found in
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells: Methods and Prools
, a compilation of 33 detailed prools in six categories of PSC research that cover laboratory essentials and the derivation of new PSC lines, including induced PSC lines, as well as their growth, maintenance, characterization, genetic manipulation, and differentiation. Written in the successful
Methods in Molecular Biology™
series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible prools, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Authoritative and accessible,
serves as an ideal guide to scientists conducting their own pluripotent cell research programs and makes great strides towards furthering human knowledge and, ultimately, improving the human condition.