Tissue Engineering. Part B, Reviews

Decellularized Adipose Tissue (DAT) has great clinical applicability, owing to its abundant source material, natural extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment, and non-immunogenic attributes, rendering it a versatile resource in the realm of tissue engineering. However, practical implementations are confronted with multifarious limitations. Among these, the selection of an appropriate gelation strategy serves as the foundation for adapting to diverse clinical contexts. The crosslinking strategies under varying physical or chemical conditions exert profound influences on the ultimate morphology and therapeutic efficacy of DAT...

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are ubiquitous components in the cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM). Ultrastructural arrangement of ECM and GAG mediated interactions with collagen are known to govern the mechanics in articular cartilage, but these interactions are less clear in other cartilage types. Therefore, this article reviews the current literature on ultrastructure of articular, auricular, meniscal, and nasal septal cartilage, seeking insight into GAG mediated interactions influencing mechanics. Ultrastructural features of these cartilages are discussed to highlight differences between them...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from oral tissues are known as dental stem cells (DSCs). Due to their unique therapeutic niche and clinical accessibility, DSCs serve as a promising treatment option for bone defects and oral tissue regeneration. DSCs exist in a hypoxic microenvironment in vivo, which is far lower than the current 20% oxygen concentration utilized in in vitro culture. It has been widely reported that the application of an oxygen concentration less than 5% in the culture of DSCs is beneficial for preserving stemness and promoting proliferation, migration and paracrine activity...

Tissue engineering, a crucial approach in medical research and clinical applications, aims to regenerate damaged organs. Combining stem cells, biochemical factors, and biomaterials, it encounters challenges in designing complex 3D structures. Artificial intelligence (AI) enhances tissue engineering through computational modeling, biomaterial design, cell culture optimization, and personalized medicine. This review explores AI applications in organ tissue engineering (bone, heart, nerve, skin, cartilage), employing various machine learning (ML) algorithms for data analysis, prediction, and optimization...

With the increasing prevalence of bone tissue diseases, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting applied to bone tissue engineering for treatment has received a lot of interests in recent years. The research and popularization of 3D bioprinting in bone tissue engineering require bioinks with good performance, which is closely related to ideal material and appropriate construction form. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is the inorganic component of natural bone and has been widely used in bone tissue engineering and other fields due to its good biological and physicochemical properties...

The healing process after tendon injury is often accompanied by the formation of peritendinous adhesion, contributing to limb dysfunction and exerting detrimental effects on the individuals, as well as the development of society and economy. With the continuous development of material science, as well as the augmented understanding of tendon healing and the mechanism of peritendinous adhesion formation, materials employed for the fabrication of barrier membranes against peritendinous adhesion emerge in endlessly...

Peri-implant gingival tissue integration (GTI) is pivotal in determining the long-term success and functionality of dental implants. To enhance GTI, researchers have increasingly focused during the past decade on unravelling the response of gingival tissues to implant surfaces. This increased focus on soft instead of hard tissue integration has led to the development of various models, including in vitro cell culture systems and in vivo animal models, designed to predict and assess GTI around dental implants...

Bone defects represent a prevalent category of clinical injuries, causing significant pain and escalating healthcare burdens. Effectively addressing bone defects is thus of paramount importance. Platelets, formed from megakaryocyte lysis, have emerged as pivotal players in bone tissue repair, inflammatory responses, and angiogenesis. Their intracellular storage of various growth factors, cytokines, and membrane protein receptors contributes to these crucial functions. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of platelets' roles in hematoma structure, inflammatory responses, and angiogenesis throughout the process of fracture healing...

Regenerative medicine aims to restore the function of diseased or damaged tissues and organs by cell therapy, gene therapy, and tissue engineering, along with the adjunctive application of bioactive molecules. Traditional bioactive molecules such as growth factors and cytokines have shown great potential in regulation of cellular and tissue behavior, but have the disadvantages of limited source, high cost, short half-life, and side effects. In recent years, herbal compounds extracted from natural plants/herbs have gained increasing attention...

The foreign body response (FBR) and organ fibrosis are complex biological processes involving the interaction between macrophages and fibroblasts. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying macrophage-fibroblast crosstalk is crucial for developing strategies to mitigate implant encapsulation, a major cause of implant failure. This article reviews the current knowledge on the role of macrophages and fibroblasts in the FBR and organ fibrosis, highlighting the similarities between these processes. The FBR is characterized by the formation of a fibrotic tissue capsule around the implant, leading to functional impairment...

The repair of nasal septal cartilage is a key challenge in cosmetic and functional surgery of the nose, as it determines its shape and its respiratory function. Supporting the dorsum of the nose is essential for both the prevention of nasal obstruction and the restoration of the nose structure. Most surgical procedures to repair or modify the nasal septum focus on restoring the external aspect of the nose by placing a graft under the skin, without considering respiratory concerns. Tissue engineering offers a more satisfactory approach, in which both the structural and biological roles of the nose are restored...

Rotator cuff tear (RCT) is the most common cause of disability in the upper-extremity.1 It results in 4.5 million physician visits in the United States every year and is the most common etiology of shoulder conditions evaluated by orthopedic surgeons.2,3 Over 460,000 RCT repair surgeries are performed in the United States annually.4 Rotator cuff (RC) retear and failure to heal remain significant post-operative complications.5 Literature suggests that the retear rates can range from 29.5% to as high as 94%.6,7 Weakened and irregular enthesis regeneration is a crucial factor in post-surgical failure...

The main focus of this article is the role of lipids in biomineralization. Much of the discussion on biomineralization focuses on proteins in these decades. Indeed, collagen and acidic non-collagenous proteins effectively serve as templates for mineralization. However, other macromolecules such as lipids and polysaccharides have received less attention despite their abundance at mineralization sites. The matrix vesicle theory is widely accepted as the induction of early mineralization. Although ion concentration within the vesicles has been discussed in the initial mineralization in this theory, the role of phospholipids that constitute the vesicle membrane has not been discussed much...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most debilitating problems for humans. About 6 months after the initial injury, a cascade of secondary cellular and molecular events occurs and the primary damage enters the chronic phase. Current treatments are not curative. One of the new treatment methods is the use of cell therapy, which is gradually being tested in clinical trials to improve the symptoms of SCI patients. In this review article, we investigated the effect of different cell therapy trials in improving patients' symptoms and their paraclinical indicators...

After tendon or ligament reconstruction, the interface between the hard bone and soft connective tissue is considerably weakened and is difficult to restore through healing. The tendon/ligament-bone interface is mechanically the weakest point under tensile loading and is often the source of various postoperative complications, such as bone resorption and graft laxity. A comprehensive understanding of the macro- and micro- features of the native tendon/ligament-bone interface would be beneficial for developing strategies for regenerating the tissue...

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Exosomes are nanosized extracellular vesicles (EVs) that participate in intercellular communication through surface proteins and the delivery of internal cargo. The exosomes have gained attention for their potential as disease biomarkers and therapeutic agents. The therapeutic ability of exosomes has been verified by copious previous studies. Effective methods for extensive clinical applications are being researched for exosome-based regenerative therapies, including the application of 3D cultures to enhance exosome production and secretion which can resolve limited exosome secretory from the parent cells...

Cardiovascular disease stemmed from atherosclerosis is well recognized to be the predominant cause of global death. In order to comprehensively clarify the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, exploit effective drugs as well as develop therapeutic solutions, various atherosclerotic models were constructed in vitro and widely utilized by scientific community. Compared with animal models, the in vitro atherosclerotic models play prominent role not only in the targeted research of single pathological factor related to atherosclerosis in the human derived system, but also in the combined study on multi-pathological factors leading to atherosclerosis, thereby contributing tremendously to the in-depth elucidation of atherosclerotic pathological process...

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been widely used in the early neoplasia of the esophagus. However, postoperative esophageal stenosis is a big problem, particularly when a large circumferential proportion of esophageal mucosa is resected. Currently, there are several methods available to prevent esophageal stenosis after ESD, including steroid administration, esophageal stent implantation, and endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD). However, the therapeutic effects of these are not yet satisfactory. Stem cell-based therapies has shown promising potential in reconstructing tissue structure and restoring tissue function...

Anisotropically aligned collagen scaffolds mimic the microarchitectural properties of native tissue, possess superior mechanical properties, and provide the essential physicochemical cues to guide cell response. Biofabrication methodologies to align collagen fibers include mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and microfluidic approaches. Magnetic alignment of collagen was first published in 1983 but widespread use of this technique was hindered mainly due to the low diamagnetism of collagen molecules and the need for very strong tesla-order magnetic fields...