Somatic Stem Cells and Their Plasticity (Special Issue: Cells Tissues Organs 2002, 1)

To the scientist, stem cells offer a precious source of undifferentiated material for the study of cell maturation and specialization. To the clinician, these cells represent a potential source of material for the cure and replacement of damaged organs and tissues. They hold great promise for future therapy: any disease resulting from genetically or environmentally damaged tissues could, in principle, be repaired through a strategic use of stem cells. "Somatic Stem Cells and Their Plasticity" contains a timely series of review articles which serve as a primer for basic concepts surrounding stem cell biology. A broad range of topics is explored, including a basic definition of 'stem cell-ness', the genetic control of stem cell longevity, transcriptional regulation of stem cell fate and the debate on tissue stem cell plasticity. It aims to provide a conceptual scaffold of our knowledge of stem cell biology.