Stem Cells in Animal Species: From Pre-clinic to Biodiversity

This volume focuses on stem cell research and disease modeling in non-murine species. The book is divided into three parts: Stem Cells for Pre-Clinical Models, Stem Cells in Non-Conventional Species, and Stem Cell Banking for the Future. The first section presents an overview of the different pre-clinical stem cell models recently created in animal species, including the porcine model for heart failure, iPSC in large animal species, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and canine embryo-derived stem cells and modeling for human diseases. This section also discusses the potential advantages and applications of these models.
The second part of this book describes recent efforts to use stem cells for preserving endangered species, including the snow leopard and coral reefs. From this perspective, stem cells are an invaluable tool to preserve bio-diversities. Frozen cells and gametes can be obtained from animals at risk of extinction and even from microorganisms and corals suffering from heavy changes in the eco-system; this may allow the cultivation of a generation of stem cell lines and represents an exciting opportunity to support and ensure the conservation of precious varieties of living creatures. This discussion leads easily into the third section, which discusses stem cell banking as a way of safeguarding these endangered species.


Dr. Tiziana A.L. Brevini is currently an Associate Professor of Anatomy and Embryology at the University of Milan, Italy. She studied the interactions between the female genital tract and the maturing oocyte in the Department of Molecular Embryology at the University of Cambridge, U.K. She completed her doctorate degree in Endocrinology and Metabolic Sciences at the University of Milan, Italy, and then carried out research at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia. Her main areas of research focus on the understanding of cell differentiation and commitment, epigenetic control of cell fate and pluripotency-related networks in mammalian cells and embryos.