Introduction Nicotine is a key biologically active compound of cigarettes. Although nicotine is a risk factor for various health issues, it may also be beneficial when treated at moderate concentrations. Nicotine has been shown to bidirectionally regulate stem cell proliferation and differentiation depending on the doses applied. It is not clear whether or how nicotine regulates mouse embryonic...

We transplanted mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) to improve functional loss in a rat model of clip-compression spinal cord injury (SCI). The mouse embryonic stem cells were transplanted to injured cord 7 days after injury. We include minimizing the progression of secondary injury, manipulating the neuroinhibitory environment of the spinal cord, replacing lost tissue with transplanted cells an...

An improved understanding of the role of extracellular factors in controlling the embryonic stem cell (ESC) phenotype will aid the development of cell-based therapies. While the role of extracellular factors in controlling the pluripotency and differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has been the subject of much investigation, the identity and role of extrinsic factors in modulating ESC g...

Loss of photoreceptor cells due to retinal degeneration is one of the main causes of blindness in the developed world. Although there is currently no effective treatment, cell replacement therapy using stem-cell-derived photoreceptor cells may be a feasible future treatment option. In order to ensure safety and efficacy of this approach, robust cell isolation and purification protocols must be ...

Embryonic stem cells are a unique cell population capable both of self-renewal and of differentiation into all tissues in the adult organism. Despite the central importance of these cells, little information is available regarding the intracellular signaling pathways that govern self-renewal or early steps in the differentiation program. Embryonic stem cell growth and differentiation correlates...

Two recent studies, including one in this issue of Cell Stem Cell, have identified novel regulators of embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal using genome-wide RNAi screens in mouse ESCs (Ding et al., 2009; Hu et al., 2009) and have further expanded the repertoire of factors that regulate ESC identity.