![]() ![]() ![]() However, biological cues in many forms can be incorporated into the scaffold to enhance cellular function and tissue production, which is an important focus of current research.Īlthough nearly all tissues in the body are targets for tissue engineering, some tissues, such as the liver, have a high capacity for regeneration, whereas others, such as cornea, lack the ability to self-repair. The scaffold was originally considered to be primarily a 3D physical support for these cells to adhere to, proliferate, secrete extracellular matrix (ECM) and build tissue. Autologous or allogeneic cells can be further categorized as stem cells (adult or embryonic) or fully differentiated cells. Exogenous cells that can be delivered to a patient include autologous cells, which are expanded in culture or prepared immediately after extraction, or allogeneic cells harvested from healthy donors. This component can be endogenous cells from the surrounding environment that migrate into a scaffold or cells recruited from distant sites: for example, bone marrow-derived stem cells. The cellular component of the system is the only viable or living portion that secretes and builds the tissue. The three historical components of tissue engineering - cells, scaffolds and biochemical cues - are today often considered in isolation as a result of the technical and regulatory translational challenges of combining materials, cells and biologics into one therapeutic 5. Now, using biomaterials (with knowledge of cellular biology) and molecular signalling, the de novo building of organ and limb replacements is given the collective term of regenerative medicine 3, 4. However, the constraints of cultivating extra tissue in an individual's body and the limited availability of donor tissues led to the advent of the field of tissue engineering. Advances in allotransplantation permitted the restoration of form and function to entire tissues and organs harvested from donors. Surgeons then - and now - were also creatively exploring strategies in ‘autograft’ transplantation, which uses a person's own healthy tissues to replace injured ones 2. Using materials to replace tissues dates back hundreds of years, starting with wooden or bony prosthetics for teeth and digits 1. Finally, looking to the future, we discuss the role of the immune system in regeneration and the potential for biomaterial scaffolds to modulate immune signalling to create a pro-regenerative environment.ĭisease, trauma and congenital defects lead to tissue loss and the necessity to replace missing form and function. In this Review, we present the development and translation of biomaterials for two tissue engineering targets, cartilage and cornea, both of which lack the ability to self-repair. The therapeutic relevance of these biomaterial properties can only be studied after clinical translation, whereby key parameters for efficacy can be defined and then used for future design. Sophisticated chemistries are used to synthesize materials that mimic and modulate native tissue microenvironments, to replace form and to elucidate structure–function relationships of cell–material interactions. ![]() Biomaterials serve as scaffolds for regenerative medicine to deliver cells, provide biological signals and physical support, and mobilize endogenous cells to repair tissues. The field of regenerative medicine aims to replace tissues lost as a consequence of disease, trauma or congenital abnormalities. ![]()
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