Endocrine Abstracts

The aim of this symposium is to introduce and to discuss current concepts regarding stem cells and their potential use in therapy with special focus on endocrinological applications. Stem cells are defined by their ability for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. They are classified into embryonic and adult (tissue-specific) stem cells. Derivation, characterization and testing the functional activities of stem cells in vitro and vivo will be discussed. The potential use of stem cells for therapy of diabetes, bone and cartilage loss, ischemic conditions as well as hormone deficiency states will be discussed and an update regarding the current clinical protocols using stem cells in patient treatment will be presented.

Reference from our publication that will be discussed:

1. J. Simonsen, C. Rosada, N. Sernici, J. Justesen, K. Stenderup, S. Rattan, T. Jensen and M. Kassem (2002). Telomerase expression extends lifespan and prevents senescence-associated impairment of osteoblast functions. Nature Biotechnology 20:592

2. K. Stenderup, J. Justesen, C. Clausen and M. Kassem (2003). Aging is associated with decreased maximal life span and accelerated senescence of bone marrow stromal cells Bone 33:919

3. I Kratchmarova, B Blagoev, M Haack-Sorensen, M Kassem and M Mann (2005) Mechanisms of divergent growth factor effects in mesenchymal stem cell differentiation. Science 308:1472

Reviews:

1. Kassem M. (2004) Mesenchymal stem cells: biological characteristics and potential clinical applications. Cloning Stem Cells. 6:369

2. Kassem M (2005) Stem cells, regenerative medicine and aging. In Rattan S (Ed) Aging interventions and therapies. World Scientific pp. 355–364