Fibrosis is a life-threatening pathological condition resulting from a dysfunctional tissue repair process. There is no efficient treatment and organ transplantation is in many cases the only therapeutic option. Here we review tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) approaches to address fibrosis in the cardiovascular system, the kidney, the lung and the liver. These strategies have great potential to achieve repair or replacement of diseased organs by cell- and material-based therapies. However, paradoxically, they might also trigger fibrosis. Cases of TERM interventions with adverse outcome are also included in this review. Furthermore, we emphasize the fact that, although organ engineering is still in its infancy, the advances in the field are leading to biomedically relevant in vitro models with tremendous potential for disease recapitulation and development of therapies. These human tissue models might have increased predictive power for human drug responses thereby reducing the need for animal testing.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2019.07.007 | DOI Listing |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40508.
Identifying why complex tissue regeneration is present or absent in specific vertebrate lineages has remained elusive. One also wonders whether the isolated examples where regeneration is observed represent cases of convergent evolution or are instead the product of phylogenetic inertia from a common ancestral program. Testing alternative hypotheses to identify genetic regulation, cell states, and tissue physiology that explain how regenerative healing emerges in some species requires sampling multiple species among which there is variation in regenerative ability across a phylogenetic framework.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
The extrusion bioprinting of collagen material has many applications relevant to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH) technology is capable of 3D printing collagen material with the specifications and details needed for precise tissue guidance, a crucial requirement for effective tissue repair. While FRESH has shown repeated success and reliability for extrusion printing, the mechanical properties of completed collagen prints can be improved further by post-print crosslinking methodologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Craniofac Surg
January 2025
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL.
Bioabsorbable internal fixation is a well-accepted modality that is especially suitable for application in craniosynostosis. When first introduced, high rates of adverse tissue reactions were observed that have since been ameliorated with more biocompatible polymer formulations. However, the phenomenon has not entirely disappeared, and such reactions remain vexing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
Institute of Microtechnology (IMT), Technische Universität Braunschweig, Alte Salzdahlumer Str. 203, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany.
Incorporating mechanical stretching of cells in tissue culture is crucial for mimicking (patho)-physiological conditions and understanding the mechanobiological responses of cells, which can have significant implications in areas like tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Despite the growing interest, most available cell-stretching devices are not compatible with automated live-cell imaging, indispensable for characterizing alterations in the dynamics of various important cellular processes. In this work, StretchView is presented, a multi-axial cell-stretching platform compatible with automated, time-resolved live-cell imaging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
ETH Zurich, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Klingelbergstrasse 48, Basel, CH-4056, Switzerland.
Neo-vascularization plays a key role in achieving long-term viability of engineered cells contained in medical implants used in precision medicine. Moreover, strategies to promote neo-vascularization around medical implants may also be useful to promote the healing of deep wounds. In this context, a biocompatible, electroconductive borophene-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) 3D platform is developed, which is called VOLT, to support designer cells engineered with a direct-current (DC) voltage-controlled gene circuit that drives secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!