Methods for Functional Analysis of Stem Cells

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are rare, multipotent cells characterized by their ability to self-renew and to generate all blood cells throughout life. Major advances have been made in the area of HSC research as a result of the development of different techniques that allowed HSC identification, purification, and analysis of biological functions. This chapter presents methods that are currently used to analyze HSC functions in vitro based on their characteristics.