Track Categories
The track category is the heading under which your abstract will be reviewed and later published in the conference printed matters if accepted. During the submission process, you will be asked to select one track category for your abstract.
Nowadays, stem cells are used in varied field researches, due to its capability to proliferate and differentiate into any kind of cell that is desired for. Because of the incredible power and versatility of the stem cells, these are hoped to have a better future in research. The astonishing progress in the field of stem cell research has laid the foundation for cell based therapies for diseases which cannot be cured by conventional medicine.
Stem cell technology is a rapidly flourishing field that fuses the work of cell researcher, geneticists, and clinicians, and provides valuable and innovative technique or approaches that is used to treat both lives threatening and non-dangerous disorders. Thus, many researches have been performed in this field, with the hope of producing results that would dominate the scientific field in the forthcoming years.
Stem cells are a specific type of cell that can differentiate into many types of specialized cells within the body. There are three primary types of stem cells namely – embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Epigenetics is the study of inborn changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. Three systems namely DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding RNA associated gene silencing are presently considered to initiate and sustain any kind of epigenetic change. Epigenetic modifications can illustrate manner by which cells terminally differentiate to end up as skin cells, liver cells, brain cells, etc. or, epigenetic change can have more detrimental effects which can even result in diseases like cancer.
Recent research has shown that stem cell fates are controlled by their specialized microenvironment, which referred to as the stem cell niche. A stem cell niche is a tissue area which provides a specific micro environment, within which stem cells are present in an undifferentiated and self-renewable state. Cells of the stem cell niche interact with the stem cells via direct cell-cell interactions or by emitting molecular signals from the niche; thereby maintaining the stem cells or promoting their differentiation.
Stem cells have the capacity to propagate and generate additional stem cells and can differentiate into distinct progenitor cells which further develop along specialized lineages. These Stem cell markers allows for the identification and isolation of stem cells in different types of tissues and cell populations. Such markers allow us for the identification of different types of stem cells such as embryonic, hematopoietic, mesenchymal/stromal and neural stem cells based on the markers that are present on its surface.
Stem cell genomics analyzes the genomes of stem cells. The study of stem cell genomics has wide reaching implications in the study of stem cell biology and likely therapeutic usages of stem cells. Application of research in this field could lead to drug discovery and information on diseases by the molecular characterization of the pluripotent stem cell through DNA and transcriptome sequencing and looking at the epigenetic changes of stem cells and subsequent products. One step in that process is single cell phenotypic analysis and the connection between the phenotype and genotype of specific stem cells.
Stem Cell Therapy (SCT) is the treatment adapted to cure various disorders, from non-serious to life threatening, by using stem cells. These stem cells can be obtained from different sources and used to possibly treat more than 80 disorders, counting neuromuscular and degenerative disorders. Hematopoietic disorders which affect bone marrow and signify with various systemic complications, can be cured by collecting the stem cells from donor and incorporating it in the patient; as a result, which is said to reconstitute the defective bone marrow and permanently overcome the disorder. So, Stem cells have great potential in tissue regeneration and tissue repair but needs to be thoroughly studied about their biology, manipulation and safety before their full therapeutic potential can be attained.
Stem cells are continuously breaking down and developing into different types of blood cells, replacing the older blood cells present in the body. Healthy stem cells are always needed in the body for us to live. Stem Cell Transplantation (SCT) is a method in which a patient receives healthy stem cells to replace the flawed stem cells. Before SCT, the patient is subjected to high doses of chemotherapy which prepares the body for transplantation. When the stem cells are incorporated into the patient’s blood stream, they travel to the bone marrow and initiates the process of forming new and healthy blood cells including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.
All the researches affirm that ageing is related to the decline in the ability of the body to regenerate new tissue causing joints, blood vessels and other parts of ours body to function differently than they do when we are younger. With the sharp growth in the ageing population, the need for the effective regenerative medicine approaches for the aged people is more important than ever. Evidence collected in the last several years implies that, even though the stem cells remain active till old age, changes in the stem cells and their microenvironments restricts their regenerative capacity. An harmony of both the cell – intrinsic stem cell changes, as well as associated changes in the stem cell niche and the systemic environment, are essential for the development of regenerative medicine strategies that might be successful in aged patients in the upcoming years.
Auto immune diseases are usually treated with the immune suppressive agents such as steroids, methotrexate, cyclosporine, gold, and more recently infliximab, where they are used only as temporary solution, which carries the possibility of long-term adverse effects, as well as the need for long lasting treatment. Stem cell therapy has established to stimulate profound healing activity in animals with various auto immune disorder, apart from the healing capacity, these stem cells have the unique ability to modulate the immune system so that it shuts off the pathological responses thereby preventing its ability to fight against the disease.
Various researches have been undertaken to treat and cure the diabetes disease, which is classified into: Type I and Type II diabetes. Recent advances in stem cell biology, has led to the path of new ways of studying T1D. Many researches are carried out to treat the diabetes, where they aim to create glucose-sensing, insulin-producing beta cells, the cells impacted in both type I and type II diabetes, Even they try to derive beta cells from the cell of pancreas using stem cells. Thus, we can believe that many useful and innovative treatment methods can be developed in future using these stem cells, which can give stable and long-lasting solution to the patients suffering from different types of diabetes.
Stem cells are the parent cells of all tissues and organs present in the body and exists mainly to maintain and restore the cells in the areas where they are found such as blood, bone marrow, skin, hair, muscle and organs like the brain, liver, etc. Nanotechnology brings new opportunities for the research in stem cell and its development. Nanotechnology is the term referred to envelope the design, construction, and utilization of functional structures with at least one characteristic dimension limited to nano meters. The application of nanotechnology in stem cell research and development displays attracting technological forecast, which provides a chance for us to solve the prevailing issues that stem cell research and development face.
Currently, human stem cells are of special interest in the market of medical research and moreover embryonic stem cells can differentiate into more cell types than adult stem cells. The nature of the stem cells requires the use of special stem cell culture media and reagents. Culturing of embryonic stem cells necessitates conditions that maintain these cells in an undifferentiated state to retain their capacity for self-renewal and pluripotency. Stem cell biologists are consistently optimizing the methods to improve the efficiency of embryonic stem cell culture, and are also simultaneously trying to direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specialized cell types that could be used in regenerative medicine. The stem cell bioprocess depends on robust and reproducible culture conditions of the stem cells. The stem cell bioprocessing includes the process of scale up of stem cells to a differentiated product of expected quality and quantity for both clinical and commercial purpose.
Stem cells have the property of self-renewal and proliferation, which is controlled in part by the induction of apoptosis. Therefore, the number of stem cells is a balance between those lost to differentiation/apoptosis and those gained via proliferation. Apoptosis of stem cells is a dynamic process which changes with respect to the environmental conditions. Dysregulation of apoptosis in stem cells is believed to underlie some cancer pathologies, where apoptotic resistance results in uncontrolled growth (i.e. glioblastoma). Thus, many researches have been carried out to study the relation between the ageing of stem cells and apoptosis, as well as, how ageing would affect the apoptosis of the stem cells, And it is believed to produce the results which leads to the technological breakthrough in the field of stem cell biology in the upcoming years.
Targeted drug delivery is the process in which the drug is selectively targeted or delivered only to its site of action and not to the non-targeted organs present in the body. Targeted drug delivery is very much needed, especially in the anti-cancer therapy because targeted drug distribution is very essential in the case of tumour. Stem cells can be genetically engineered and used as a carrier for drug delivery. Genetic modification can amplify and broaden the therapeutic properties of the stem cells, but special care must be taken while characterizing these cells to specific diseases. Stem cell mediated drug delivery has the capacity to consistently boost the therapeutic effects of these cells for regenerative medicine application.
Therapeutic cloning is a method which is often used to treat a patient who suffers from a disease. This therapeutic cloning which is otherwise called as Somatic cell nuclear transfer; involves the insertion of the nucleus of a cell, especially a skin cell into the fertilized egg. Now, this nucleated egg initiates to divide repeatedly and forms blastocyst. The cells from the inner cell mass are isolated and utilised to create embryonic stem cell lines that are a perfect genetic match for the patient; which are then incorporated into the patients where they integrate into the tissues, imparting its function. This method is followed with policies and careful monitoring in place to ensure that the therapeutic cloning method is used responsibly and so the patients can be benefitted from the potential of this procedure to eventually treat or cure many diseases.
Biobanking is the process where all the biological samples such as body fluids, tissues, and cells are collected especially for the research purpose in order to improve our understanding on the biology and the mechanism of the biological components. Stem cell banking is done to utilise the bio-banked stem cells in pre-clinical trials and clinical trials. Bio-bank related researches has become very interesting nowadays because of advances in sample storage and data processing, a better understanding of the human genome, and high throughput laboratory assays; but many ethical conditions must be met before conducting these types of researches. Some projects can be done, such as UK Biobank, by recruiting many healthy people across the population and then use their samples overtime to check why few people go on and develop particular disease or conditions while others do not.
Regenerative medicine is a field that integrates engineering and bio science principles to promote regeneration, that can effectively restore diseased and injured tissues, Regenerative Medicine also refers to a group of biomedical approaches to clinical therapies that might involve the use of stem cells. This may also permit scientists to grow tissues and organs in the laboratory and safely implant them when the body is unable to heal itself. It assures the process of regeneration of damaged tissues and organs in the body by replacing damaged tissue, or by stimulating the body's own repair mechanisms to heal tissues or organs. As future research is done with added applications, the fields of regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies will continue to fuse and expand, thereby potentially treating many diseased conditions and improving the health of many patients suffering from the disease.
Even though many researches have been carried out regarding regeneration techniques; the longevity of the clinical benefits the regenerated tissue has not been fully explored. In the condition called as spontaneous intervertebral disc disease; using current treatments the neurological deficits can be resolved and the pain can be reduced but this do not lead to the repair of the degenerated disc. In such cases, new regenerative therapies can be adapted which repairs the regenerated disc matrix, resulting in the restoration of the biological function of the intervertebral disc. For these therapies to develop, few animals can be used as a model in order to improve the technique of regenerating the damaged tissues.
Modern medicine faces an expanding crisis as the demand for the organ transplantation continues to exceed the supply. The recent consolidation of emerging field nanotechnology into biology results in innovative technological efforts for the repair and regeneration of tissues and organs. Nanostructures are designed which can mimic tissue specific bioenvironments by designing constructs with biochemical, physical and electric properties. Tissues engineered using these nanostructures can be employed for enhanced cell adhesion, growth and differentiation. Thus, it is expected that nanoengineering approaches to biological applications can contribute to focus the prevailing issues of the personal and universal health and its economic burden.
Biomaterials and Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine discovers a range of applications for biomaterials and stem cell therapy and defines current research on suitable cell scaffolds and substrates for tissue repair and reconstruction. Biomaterials in stem cells covers the basic science involved in structure and properties, techniques and technological innovations in processing and characterization, and applications of biomaterials and stem cells.
Nowadays, allogenic transplantation becomes the ultimate solution for end stage organ failure. But the clinical application is restricted due to the shortage of donor organs and the need for lifelong immune suppressive agents, which highlights the importance of developing effective regeneration techniques and strategies. Invitro models are designed which are ideally supposed to mimic the stem cell microenvironment, potentially used to induce stem cell derived tissue formation, where biodegradable scaffolds play an essential role in creating a 3D environment which induces tissue formation. Thus, the application of scaffolding bio materials together with stem cell technology is considered to hold immense potential for tissue regeneration.
Rare diseases are highly diverse and possess complexed genetic conditions and affects millions of patients worldwide. Therefore, there are not enough treatment options available for most of the rare diseases. Over the last decade, there is a remarkable progress in pluripotent and adult stem cell biology and the onset of powerful genomic technologies has opened up exciting new approaches for the investigation, diagnosis, and personalized therapy for various human diseases. Thus utilizing the entire range of available stem cells in standardized cell engineering strongly lays the foundation for the next generation drug discovery and cell therapies that are applicable in regenerative medicine to treat different types of rare diseases.
Stem cell research provides a great assurance for understanding basic mechanisms of human cell development and differentiation, as well as the hope for new treatments for many diseases such as diabetes, spinal cord injury and various auto immune diseases. iPS cells holds great promise, but care is needed to confirm their translational clinical trials. A variety of multipotent stem cells derived from human fluids and tissues, present the opportunity for widespread biobanking and increased access. With these increasing resources, thereby comes the pressing issues of consent, control and justice. Thus, human stem cell research is both scientifically promising and ethically confronting, application of both the prevailing ethical issues and cautious consideration of new ethical implications are essential as these broad and diverse field advances ahead.