Cell therapy with stem/progenitor cells is a new and promising therapeutic approach for many diseases that currently do not have satisfying treatment. However, the beneficial results of cell therapy in initial small-scale clinical studies have not been reproduced by subsequent large-scale studies, strongly indicating the urgent needs of further optimization of cell-based therapy.

There are various approaches and strategies to improve the therapeutic potential of stem/progenitor cells, ranging from engineering to cell molecular biology approaches. We invite both review and original research articles describing the approaches and strategies to maximize the therapeutic effects of stem/progenitor cell-based therapeutics.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• In vitro cell preparation and expansion
• Intra- and intercellular manipulation to regulate cell differentiation
• Knockdown and forced expression of targeted genes and microRNAs
• Biomaterials that maximize cell survival upon transplantation
• Tissue engineering approach