Applying chemical tools to the discovery of novel regenerative medicine

Regeneration is the process of restoring cells, tissues and structures that are lost during disease, injury or aging. Most regenerative processes involve stem or progenitor cells. However, regeneration mediated by stem or progenitor cells in adult mammalian systems is limited. Hence, small molecules that promote stem cell proliferation and/or differentiation are highly sought after, either as molecular tools to further understand stem cell biology or as drug leads for development of novel regenerative medicine.

Section editors:Li-he Zhang – School of Pharmaceutical Science, Peking University, Beijing, ChinaKaixian Chen – Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China