Current Developments and Future Perspectives of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) is an interdisciplinary field encompassing many disciplines, including engineering, medicine, and science. The field has gained an enormous attention due to its potential to replace damaged human tissues
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Current Developments and Future Perspectives of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Ji Hyun Kim and James J. Yoo
1.1
Introduction
Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) is an interdisciplinary field encompassing many disciplines, including engineering, medicine, and science. The field has gained an enormous attention due to its potential to replace damaged human tissues and organs and restore normal function [1–3]. Although the early concept of tissue engineering was developed based on cell culture techniques, recent advances in the field combine multiple innovative technologies to accelerate the translation of clinical therapies. In fact, a number of TERM technologies have advanced to human clinical trials and commercialized [4, 5]. In this chapter, we review the current developments and recent progresses made in the field of TERM and discuss the most relevant challenges and future perspectives in the translation of TERM research.
1.2
Current Developments in TERM
Aligned with the goals of TERM, research activities have advanced in many disciplines toward developing new therapies that overcome the current limitations associated with conventional medical and surgical therapies. Over the years, numerous strategies have been applied for regenerating or replacing damaged tissues and organs, which led to the development of new therapies and products for patients [4, 6–9]. Accordingly, several urological tissue technologies have been developed for clinical use, including bladder, urethra, and ureter [9–11]. In this section, we review the current status of TERM therapies and discuss new and innovative technologies that hold promise in the future.
1.2.1 Cell Source
J.H. Kim (*) • J.J. Yoo Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Cells are one of the main basic components of TERM. Cells can be injected or infused into damaged tissues alone or by combining with cell carrier materials. Cells can also be used to engineer tissue constructs by attaching on a scaffolding system fabricated with biomaterials. These cells can mature into tissues and organs by direct proliferation and differentiation into
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 B.W. Kim (ed.), Clinical Regenerative Medicine in Urology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-2723-9_1
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tissue-specific cells. Implanted cells can also stimulate tissue formations indirectly by releasing biological factors. In TERM therapies, allogenic and autologous cells have been used frequently. Autologous cells are preferred over allogenic cells because these cells are isolated from the host and therefore minimize rejection and eliminate side effects caused by immunosuppressive medications [4]. Several types of autologous cells, such as smooth muscle cells, urothelial cells, and muscle-derived cells, have been used in the preclinical and clinical settings with successful outcomes in the field of urology [12–14]. Autologous cells ar
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