These cells, from human and rodent sources, have been under study for over four decades and have been found useful in treating myocardial infarction, stroke, lung diseases, spinal cord injury and neurological disorders, leading to even more paths of research. The contributors of these articles include step-by-step laboratory protocols, materials lists, and tips on avoiding pitfalls in this guide to conducting mesenchymal stem cell research, focusing on the isolation of human multipotential stromal cells (MSCs) from bone marrow and adipose tissue, manipulation of multipotential stromal cells, and isolation and characterization of murine multipotential stromal cells from bone marrow. Topics include a method to isolate and purify human bone marrow stromal stem cells, adipose-derived stem cells, colony-forming unit assays for MSCs, freezing and recovery of MSCs, and assays of MSCs with microrrays. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)