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Stem cell homing-based tissue engineering using bioactive materials

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Abstract

Tissue engineering focuses on repairing tissue and restoring tissue functions by employing three elements: scaffolds, cells and biochemical signals. In tissue engineering, bioactive material scaffolds have been used to cure tissue and organ defects with stem cell-based therapies being one of the best documented approaches. In the review, different biomaterials which are used in several methods to fabricate tissue engineering scaffolds were explained and show good properties (biocompatibility, biodegradability, and mechanical properties etc.) for cell migration and infiltration. Stem cell homing is a recruitment process for inducing the migration of the systemically transplanted cells, or host cells, to defect sites. The mechanisms and modes of stem cell homing-based tissue engineering can be divided into two types depending on the source of the stem cells: endogenous and exogenous. Exogenous stem cell-based bioactive scaffolds have the challenge of long-term culturing in vitro and for endogenous stem cells the biochemical signal homing recruitment mechanism is not clear yet. Although the stem cell homing-based bioactive scaffolds are attractive candidates for tissue defect therapies, based on in vitro studies and animal tests, there is still a long way before clinical application.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81371979).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200080, China

    Yinxian Yu & Chengqing Yi

  2. State Key Lab for Modification of Chemical Fibers & Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China

    Binbin Sun & Xiumei Mo

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  1. Yinxian Yu
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Yu, Y., Sun, B., Yi, C. et al. Stem cell homing-based tissue engineering using bioactive materials. Front. Mater. Sci. 11, 93–105 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-017-0373-0

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