Regenerative engineering of long bones using the small molecule forskolin.

Bone grafting procedures have become increasingly common in the United States, with approximately 500,000 cases occurring each year at a societal cost exceeding $2.4 billion. Recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins (rhBMPs) are therapeutic agents that have been widely used by orthopedic surgeons to stimulate bone tissue formation alone and when paired with biomaterials.

Skeletal Muscle Regenerative Engineering.

Skeletal muscles have the intrinsic ability to regenerate after minor injury, but under certain circumstances such as severe trauma from accidents, chronic diseases or battlefield injuries the regeneration process is limited. Skeletal muscle regenerative engineering has emerged as a promising approach to address this clinical issue. The regenerative engineering approach involves the convergence of advanced materials science, stem cell science, physical forces, insights from developmental biology, and clinical translation.

Repositioning Tacrolimus: Evaluation of the Effect of Short-Term Tacrolimus Treatment on Osteoprogenitor Cells and Primary Cells for Bone Regenerative Engineering.

Small-molecule-based bone regenerative engineering is an encouraging strategy for repair and regeneration of skeletal tissue. Using osteogenic small molecules for engineering bone tissue has several potential benefits over polypeptide-based approaches. Interestingly, hundreds of such small molecules possess the capability to promote osteogenesis, and several of these are already approved by the FDA for use in other applications, indicating their safety for human use.

The roles of ions on bone regeneration.

Bone scientists are actively investigating a range of methods to promote skeletal tissue regeneration. A review of recent literature has revealed that several ions are uniquely capable of inducing stem cell differentiation down desired lineages. There exists enormous promise for these ions to be used in bone regenerative medicine.

Engineered Bone Tissue with Naturally-Derived Small Molecules.

Natural products remain the best resources of drugs and drug leads. Recently, there is growing recognition that identifying new small molecules to promote bone regeneration is a laudable translational goal. In fact, new approaches for bone repair and regeneration that involve inexpensive naturally-derived compounds would have an important impact on the treatment of bone disorders and injuries.

Harnessing cAMP signaling in musculoskeletal regenerative engineering.

This paper reviews the most recent findings in the search for small molecule cyclic AMP analogues regarding their potential use in musculoskeletal regenerative engineering.