Learning Materials in Biosciences Gabriela Rodrigues Bernard A. J. Roelen Editors Concepts and Applications of Stem Cell Biology A Guide for Students Learning Materials in Biosciences Learning Materials in Biosciences textbooks compactly and concisely discuss a specific biological, bio- medical, biochemical, bioengineering or cell biologic topic. The textbooks in this series are based on lec- tures for upper-level undergraduates, master’s and graduate students, presented and written by authoritative figures in the field at leading universities around the globe. The titles are organized to guide the reader to a deeper understanding of the concepts covered. Each textbook provides readers with fundamental insights into the subject and prepares them to indepen- dently pursue further thinking and research on the topic. Colored figures, step-by-step protocols and take-h ome messages offer an accessible approach to learning and understanding. In addition to being designed to benefit students, Learning Materials textbooks represent a valuable tool for lecturers and teachers, helping them to prepare their own respective coursework. More information about this series at 7http://www. springer. com/series/15430 Gabriela Rodrigues • Bernard A. J. Roelen Editors Concepts and Applications of Stem Cell Biology A Guide for Students Editors Gabriela Rodrigues Bernard A. J. Roelen Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Alterações Embryology, Anatomy and Physiology, Ambientais, Departamento de Biologia Department Clinical Sciences, Faculty Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da of Veterinary Medicine Universidade de Lisboa Utrecht Universtity Lisbon, Portugal Utrecht, The Netherlands ISSN 2509-6125 ISSN 2509-6133 (electronic) Learning Materials in Biosciences ISBN 978-3-030-43938-5 ISBN 978-3-030-43939-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43939-2 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recita- tion, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or infor- mation storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publica- tion does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland V To all our dear students, challenging them to reach new horizons in stem cell biology. Preface More than a decade has gone by since the Master’s Programme in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology (MSc EDB) started in the Department of Animal Biology, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (Faculty of Sciences of the Univer- sity of Lisbon (FCUL)) Portugal. In 2007, several colleagues within the Department joined efforts to put together a programme that would provide comprehensive courses to its students on the topic “how organisms are built, maintained and changed” by covering areas of Biology ranging from Cell and Developmental Biology and Genetics to Evolution. It was, and still is, our objective that students perceive the developmental and evolutionary processes that have shaped organismal complexity. The driving force of the MSc EDB is to inspire students and ignite their curiosity and enthusiasm regard- ing the biological processes that underlie the building of an organism, as well as the integration of these processes in an evolutionary perspective. This Master’s Programme puts its major emphasis on understanding and connecting concepts, providing students a strong practical training and encouraging them to think and act independently, as well as to be creative in their laboratory work. Critical analysis of papers and presenting seminars covering a variety of themes are another important aspect of the study pro- gramme. The students are also challenged to expand their interests to societal aspects, such as ethics, or to biomedical issues, such as cancer and regenerative medicine. The enthusiastic coordination team of the MSc EDB covers expertise in evolution, evolu- tionary developmental biology and development, and one of the coordinators, Sólveig Thorsteinsdóttir, authors a chapter in this book (see 7Chap. 9). The Stem Cell Biology and Technology (SCBT) course is one of the courses taught during the first year of the programme, leading to the preparation of this book authored and edited by Gabriela Rodrigues, who is also responsible for the above-mentioned course. It is expected to be an “immersive” experience where students enjoy learning and discuss- ing stem cell biology, as well as many of the impacts of the use of stem cells in biomedical research and in society. During the second year, students enrol in their master’s thesis learning to be part of a team and a lab, either indoors or outdoors, and learn to navigate the excitement and frustrations of a research project. Several collaborators of the MSc EDB Programme have come from abroad. Bernard Roelen (from Utrecht University, Netherlands) has been a long-time colleague and friend of Gabriela Rodrigues. He kindly offered to participate in the SCBT course almost since the beginning of the programme. Susana Chuva de Sousa Lopes (from Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, Netherlands) is a well-known scientist in the field of primordial germ cell biology and pluripotent stem cells who annually provides an invaluable contri- bution to the course, including cells, reagents and protocols. Bernard Roelen and Gabriela Rodrigues are coeditors of this book as a natural outcome of their ongoing common work in the programme. Moreover, Gabriela and both Bernard and Susana, with their students, have authored several chapters of this book (see 7Chaps. 1, 2, 3 and 6). Other collaborations from colleagues in Portugal, particularly from the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, the Institute of Molecular Medicine (University of Lisboa) and the Champalimaud Foundation (Lisbon), and from several institutes and universities in Porto, Braga and Faro deserve to be mentioned and acknowledged. For the last 13 years, VII Preface many researchers and professors from these institutions have been lecturers of the course. Some collaborators very generously brought practical exercises to the class lab: António Salgado (University of Minho) and Isabel Alcobia and Bruno Bernardes de Jesus (Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Lisbon) have been contributing cells, tissues and practical protocols for the SCBT course. Bruno, who is currently in the University of Aveiro, has also authored 7 Chap. 5. A more general list of contributors is listed in our website: 7 http://bed. campus. ciencias. ulisboa. pt/. These collaborations, together with the ones coming from research teams working in the FCUL campus, as well as the lab manag- ing (Marta Palma) and technical support (especially Luís Marques, FCUL Microscopy Facility) teams, have allowed the students to access high-quality teaching material and logistics. These committed and enthusiastic groups of collaborators have challenged our stu- dents with their conceptual knowledge and at the same time urging them to critically discuss what they learned. This way of teaching has been a hallmark of the success of this course. The professional outcomes of our MSc EDB students have been rather successful, both in Portugal and abroad, either working in a lab, in a company or in an academic career. Internationalization has been a main aim of the master’s and Erasmus programme that has been assisting students to travel and to gain international experience, and usually, they succeed very well in doing so. To organize, author and edit a book of this learning series based on the classes of the SCBT course was a challenging adventure. This book involves everybody who has been contributing to this course in its 13 years of duration. Both teachers and students are part of this ongoing and inspirational project, and, because of that, they are the building blocks of this book. Gabriela Rodrigues, Bernard Roelen, Susana Chuva de Sousa Lopes, Bruno Jesus, Sólveig Thorsteinsdóttir, Diana Nascimento, Evguenia Bekman and Joana Miranda, authors of the chapters in this book, teach in the SCBT course, either directly or indirectly contributing to other courses that build the background of the students. Due to unfortu- nate different reasons, many of our regular collaborators (Isabel Alcobia, Claudia Lobato da Silva, António Salgado and Jorge Marques da Silva, among others) could not take part in the book but still have had important inputs in the course for many years. Even more important than the professors are the students of the SCBT course, some of them brilliant and dedicated former students are authors in this book: Maria Fernandes (7Chap. 3), Beatriz Gonçalves (7Chap. 7), André Dias and Rita Aires (7Chap. 8), André Gonçalves (7Chap. 9), Vasco Sampaio-Pinto (7 Chap. 10), Carolina Nunes (7Chap. 12) and Sérgio Camões (7 Chap. 13). Some of these talented students have themselves already taught younger colleagues in class, taking part in this never- ending cycle of transmitting fresh information produced by their own work coming out of their research projects. A special word needs to be dedicated to Ana Bernardo, who has not only been a student of the MSc EDB but later went to do her PhD in Leiden in Susana Chuva de Sousa Lopes’ lab. She hand-drew an image inspired in each one of the subjects covered in this book that nicely decorates the front page of each chapter. The image illustrating the introductory chapter (7Chap. 1) represents the Biology Building in the FCUL where we teach the course, a beautiful environment that houses so may students living intensely their academic life every day. We expect this book to be useful to anyone who needs to learn about stem cell biology in general and about how cells, from the beginning of the morphogenesis of the embryo, V III Preface give rise to a whole organism. We hope that this book will also be a helpful tool for those who want to know further about stem cell applications and for biomedical research. The simple approach used in this book makes it amenable to the academic universe world- wide. We hope to have modestly contributed with our share to reveal the mesmerizing field of stem cell biology! Gabriela Rodrigues Lisbon, Portugal Bernard A. J. Roelen Utrecht, The Netherlands IX Acknowledgements We, the editors, would like to thank all the students who participated in the Stem Cell Biology and Technology course as part of the Master’s Programme in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology at the University of Lisbon. Their enthusiasm and ques- tions have been inspirational. Also, we are extremely thankful to all teachers who helped to shape and contributed to the course. Thanks are also due to the past and present members of the Rodrigues and Thorsteinsdóttir Lab in Lisbon for their help with the course and the past and present members of the Roelen lab in Utrecht and of the Chuva de Sousa Lopes lab in Leiden, Netherlands, for their contribution, both intellectually and materially. We want to leave here a special word of appreciation to the work of our manager, Marta Palma, and of our FCUL Microscopy Unit techni- cian, Luís Marques. Their constant “backstage” work is surely a part of the success of this course. And without the course, there would not have been a book. We thank all the authors of the chapters for their contribution and for being patient with us. Special thanks to Ana Bernardo for providing the opening illustrations of the chapters.