Basic Principles -- Mobilization of Bone Marrow-Derived Progenitors -- Role of Endothelial Nitric Oxide in Bone Marrow-Derived Progenitor Cell Mobilization -- Immune Plasticity of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells -- Bone Marrow-Derived Cells: The Influence of Aging and Cellular Senescence -- Involvement of Marrow-Derived Endothelial Cells in Vascularization -- Therapeutic Implication and Clinical Experience -- Comparison of Intracardiac Cell Transplantation: Autologous Skeletal Myoblasts Versus Bone Marrow Cells -- Ischemic Tissue Repair by Autologous Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells: Scientific Basis and Preclinical Data -- Cell Therapy and Gene Therapy Using Endothelial Progenitor Cells for Vascular Regeneration -- Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Cardiac Regenerative Therapy -- Autotransplantation of Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells as a Therapy for Neurodegenerative Diseases -- Stem Cells as a Treatment for Chronic Liver Disease and Diabetes -- The Participation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Tumor Stroma Formation and Their Application as Targeted-Gene Delivery Vehicles. Thereisexcitementgeneratedalmostdailyaboutthepossibleusesofstemcells to treat human disease. The ability of stem cells to acquire different desired phenotypes has opened the door for a new discipline: regenerative medicine. Muchoftheinterestforthispurposeisgeneratedbyembryonicstemcells,but their use is still controversial for moral as well as scienti?c reasons. Less c- troversialandreadilyavailablearetheadultbonemarrow-derivedprogenitors, includinghematopoieticstemcells,endothelialprogenitors,andmesenchymal stem cells, which are the subjects of this book. These cells can be isolated by simple procedures directly from the bone marrow or from peripheral blood after being stimulated, i. e. , mobilized. By reaching sites of damage through thecirculationorevenafterlocaladministration,thesecellscanovercomethe hurdles of delivery approaches that limit the success of gene therapy. Adult bone marrow-derived cells have been shown to regenerate diseased hepa- cytesandcontributetoneurons,bloodvessels,andskeletalandcardiacmuscle cells. The increasing amount of new data, sometimes with con?icting results, is making us appreciate the molecular complexity of cell differentiation and potential mechanisms of action involved in these cell-mediated processes. It isbecomingincreasinglyimportanttounderstandthebiologyofthesecellsto potentially improve their therapeutic ef?ciency and to facilitate their proper therapeuticuse. Examiningthecell-mediatedprocessescanultimatelyleadto the discovery of pathways and molecular mechanisms of organ repair, which canbefurtherutilizedindrugdevelopment. Withpatients'growingattention to the most recent research developments, there is increasing medical need forabetterunderstanding-developedthroughrationallydesigned,rand- izedclinical trialsthat will move thesestrategiesquicklyand carefullytoward medicalreality-toparallelthe increasedenthusiasm. In thisvolumeof theseries Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology p- lished by Springer, we hope to achieve the ambitious goal of providing a comprehensive overview of the currently available information related to the therapeutic utility of adult bone marrow-derived cells.