Autophagy in Stem Cell Maintenance and Differentiation

This book covers a wide range of topics that illustrate the various  functions of autophagy in stem cells and offers insights on the  mechanisms by which autophagy can regulate stem-cell self-renewal and  facilitate specific differentiation programs. Stem cells are unique  cells present in most multicellular animals and are essential for their  survival. They have two unique properties: the ability to self-renew and  the ability to differentiate into one or more cell types. These  characteristics of stem cells have found immense therapeutic potential  in regenerative medicine. Autophagy is a crucial membrane trafficking  pathway that is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis that  involves sequestration of non-functional proteins, protein aggregates  and damaged organelles in double-membraned vesicles called  autophagosomes, which are subsequently targeted to the lysosome for  degradation. The primary aim of this book is to provide knowledge of  recent developments in our understanding of the role of autophagy in  stem cells, including germline stem cells.
Autophagy is considered a  promising target for many diseases. Significant efforts are being  developed to identify specific modulators of autophagy, which will aid  in designing combinatorial therapeutic strategies that will allow  significant improvements in regenerative medicine.