模拟干细胞生长微环境以促进间充质干细胞的扩增

间充质干细胞（mesenchyrmalstemcells,MSCs）是当前在多种组织再生和细胞治疗研究中被最广泛采用的一类干细胞。但如何诱导MSCs的体外高效扩增并维持其干性特征（stemness）,从而为临床应用提供充足、优质的细胞源,是当前基础研究和临床治疗中遇到的瓶颈问题。日益增多的研究表明,机体内干细胞的自我更新与分化受其所处体内微环境的紧密调控。因此,精确模拟干细胞在体内生长的微环境已成为提高干细胞体外扩增效率的重要策略。该文就近期研究中如何模拟干细胞生长微环境诱导MSCs体外扩增并维持干细胞特性的研究做一综述,为今后MSCs的高效扩增和推进临床运用与转化提供思路。     

应用骨髓干细胞治疗肝硬化研究进展

随着干细胞研究的深入和技术的发展,再生医学的干细胞疗法治疗肝脏疾病已成为研究热点。骨髓来源造血干细胞和间充质干细胞等在肝脏疾病治疗方面有巨大潜力。骨髓干细胞参与肝纤维化与肝硬化修复主要包括迁移、归巢与转化等过程,并需要多种细胞因子和趋化因子的协同作用促进肝细胞再生与减轻肝纤维化。本文拟对骨髓干细胞治疗肝硬化的最新研究进展进行综述。     

脂肪干细胞在再生医学中的应用

再生医学是一门研究如何促进创伤与组织再生及功能重建的新兴学科,主要通过研究干细胞分化、机体等正常组织创伤修复与再生等机制来维持、修复、再生或改善损伤组织和器官功能。脂肪干细胞（adipose-derived stem cells,ASCs）是近年来从脂肪组织中分离得到的一种具有多向分化潜能的干细胞,是一种足量的、可用于实际的、有一定吸引力的自体细胞代替的供体资源,并能够广泛的用于组织修复、再生、发育的可塑性及细胞治疗等研究中。阐述了脂肪干细胞在旁分泌、软组织重建及损伤修复、骨骼肌重建、心血管重建、神经系统重建及癌症转移与入侵方面的作用模式,概括总结了目前利用脂肪干细胞参与的临床治疗方法,以期对脂肪干细胞在再生医学中应用研究提供参考。     

招募内源性干细胞-组织再生之梦

组织干细胞是成体组织中存在的一类尚未分化、能自我更新和增殖的特殊细胞群,具有分化为多种组织细胞的潜能.一般处于休眠状态,在组织损伤修复和维持组织的动态平衡中发挥重要的作用.体育运动、激素、生长因子和药物能激活内源性的组织干细胞,促进组织再生或伤口修复.利用内源性修复机制刺激组织再生,一直是生物医学领域的梦想.最新的研究表明,这个梦想现在可能成为现实.本文简要介绍了组织干细胞的内源性修复、内源性修复的生理学机制、招募内源性干细胞的主要方法及目前采用招募内源性干细胞修复和再生组织这一策略尚需克服的困难和临床应用前景.     

能捕捉组织干细胞的胶原生物材料

随着再生医学的发展,干细胞治疗逐步成为一些临床重要疾病的治疗手段之一。人体内存在着一定数量的组织干细胞或前体细胞,它们具有多向分化潜能,是参与组织再生和创伤修复的种子细胞。对于干细胞治疗而言,利用自体干     

微环境调控间充质干细胞复制性衰老的研究进展

间充质干细胞(mesenchymal stem cells, MSCs)是一类能自我更新和分化的多能细胞。越来越多的证据表明,MSCs在再生医学和组织工程等领域具有重要的作用。但是值得注意的是,与很多细胞一样,MSCs在长期体外扩增过程中会逐渐衰老,出现迁徙能力减弱、增殖速度减慢和分化潜能下降等干性减退的现象,这极大地阻碍了MSCs的应用。目前公认的引起MSCs复制性衰老的因素之一就是细胞生长的微环境。新近研究显示,外源性给药、氧浓度调节、细胞外基质(extracellular matrix, ECM)构建等最新技术都可以通过模拟或者调控微环境来改善干细胞的行为,延缓干细胞复制性衰老。本文首先综述了近年来关于MSCs复制性衰老特征和分子机制方面的研究进展,然后总结了通过改变微环境来保持MSCs干性的技术和方法,旨在为未来MSCs制剂大规模应用于组织工程和临床研究提供参考。     

类器官在再生医学中的应用

类器官是干细胞在体外基质材料支撑条件下培养出来的一种三维微器官,与来源组织器官高度相似。类器官技术为基础研究、药物筛选、再生医学等领域提供了一个新的强大的研究模型和技术手段。再生医学的目的是帮助组织或器官恢复其正常的生理功能,通过与组织工程或基因工程相结合,类器官为再生医学提供了新的移植物来源。该文将介绍类器官在再生医学中的应用,并讨论该领域发展过程中所面临的主要挑战。     

IGF-1和动态微环境对脂肪干细胞向心肌细胞分化作用的研究

体外组织工程模型中,生物化学和机械信号对心肌再生起着很重要的促进作用,对人胰岛素样生长因子(IGF-1)和三维动态微环境对脂肪干细胞向心肌细胞分化过程中的促进作用进行了研究．带有IGF-1基因的质粒整合到胶原-壳聚糖支架中,脂肪干细胞接种到整合质粒的支架内,未整合质粒的支架作为对照组,心肌细胞培养基作为分化培养基,转瓶生物反应器提供动态微环境．经2周分化培养后,检测质粒在支架内释放及表达情况、细胞在支架内的活性以及心肌功能性蛋白和基因的表达．结果表明：动态微环境能促进质粒DNA的释放和转染;IGF-1可促进脂肪干细胞在胶原-壳聚糖支架内增殖以及向心肌细胞分化;动态微环境可加强IGF-1的促增殖分化作用．因此,IGF-1和动态微环境能独立或相互促进脂肪干细胞在胶原-壳聚糖支架内活性,动态微环境还可强化IGF-1对脂肪干细胞的促分化作用．对体外构建工程化心肌组织进行心肌再生研究有着重要的指导意义．     

缺氧对于间充质干细胞分化的影响

间充质干细胞(mesenchymal stem cell,MSC),是来源于中胚层的具有自我更新能力和多向分化潜能干细胞,在体内外可以分化成骨、软骨、脂肪、肌腱和肌细胞等.由于其强大的分化潜能,MSC在组织工程与再生医学方面具有广泛的应用前景.MSC存在于高度受调控的被称为"壁龛"的微环境中.干细胞壁龛处于一个缺氧的环境中,氧分压可以低至7.2 mmHg.同时MSC是肿瘤微环境的重要的细胞组成成分,肿瘤微环境也是存在于一个缺氧的环境中.了解MSC在缺氧状态下的分化能力,对于组织工程、再生医学和肿瘤的发生发展研究具有重要的意义.缺氧相关的信号转导参与MSC定向分化能力的过程.目前MSC在缺氧状态下的成脂和成骨分化的研究存在着差异,这些研究结果的差异可能是由于MSC的异质性以及实验操作不同所引起.     

细胞梯度力学微环境体外构建的研究

细胞微环境与细胞的相互作用日益成为细胞生物学领域研究热点。微环境中物理信号(如基底的力学性能、形貌和牵张力)在控制细胞命运中的作用更不容忽视。其中力学刺激常以不均一的梯度形式参与调节发育、炎症、伤口愈合以及癌症过程中不同细胞的增殖、迁移和分化等行为。水凝胶是模拟细胞外基质(extracellular matrix, ECM)二维/三维组织支架的理想材料。先进的微纳制造技术已被广泛应用于支撑或包裹细胞的仿生水凝胶的合成和微环境的个性化定制研究中。本文阐述了体内细胞力学微环境中刚度和拉压应力刺激的构建方法与表征手段的研究现状,并着重综述了近年来水凝胶在细胞梯度力学微环境体外构建中的应用研究,同时也对未来研究中所面临的挑战提出了新的展望。这些工作对于组织工程及再生医学具有重要意义。     

Extracellular Vesicles in chondrogenesis and Cartilage regeneration

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), mainly exosomes and microvesicles, are bilayer lipids containing biologically active information, including nucleic acids and proteins. They are involved in cell communication and signalling, mediating many biological functions including cell growth, migration and proliferation. Recently, EVs have received great attention in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Many in vivo and in vitro studies have attempted to evaluate the chondrogenesis potential of these microstructures and their roles in cartilage regeneration. EVs derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) or chondrocytes have been found to induce chondrocyte proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells in vitro. Preclinical studies have shown that exosomes derived from MSCs have promising results in cartilage repair and in cell-free therapy of osteoarthritis. This review will focus on the in vitro and in vivo chondrogenesis and cartilage regeneration of EVs as well as their potential in the treatment of osteoarthritis.     

Regenerative medicine for diseases of the head and neck: principles of in vivo regeneration

The application of endogenous regeneration in regenerative medicine is based on the concept of inducing regeneration of damaged or lost tissues from residual tissues in situ. Therefore, endogenous regeneration is also termed in vivo regeneration as opposed to mechanisms of ex vivo regeneration which are applied, for example, in the field of tissue engineering. The basic science foundation for mechanisms of endogenous regeneration is provided by the field of regenerative biology. The ambitious vision for the application of endogenous regeneration in regenerative medicine is stimulated by investigations in the model organisms of regenerative biology, most notably hydra, planarians and urodeles. These model organisms demonstrate remarkable regenerative capabilities, which appear to be conserved over large phylogenetical stretches with convincing evidence for a homologue origin of an endogenous regenerative capability. Although the elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of these endogenous regenerative phenomena is still in its beginning, there are indications that these processes have potential to become useful for human benefit. Such indications also exist for particular applications in diseases of the head and neck region. As such epimorphic regeneration without blastema formation may be relevant to regeneration of sensorineural epithelia of the inner ear or the olphactory epithelium. Complex tissue lesions of the head and neck as they occur after trauma or tumor resections may be approached on the basis of relevant mechanisms in epimorphic regeneration with blastema formation.     

Mesenchymal progenitor cells derived from chorionic villi of human placenta for cartilage tissue engineering

Human mesenchymal stem cells are currently being studied extensively because of their capability for self-renewal and differentiation to various connective tissues, which makes them attractive as cell sources for regenerative medicine. Herein we report the isolation of human placenta-derived mesenchymal cells (hPDMCs) that have the potential to differentiate into various lineages to explore the possibility of using these cells for regeneration of cartilage. We first evaluated the chondrogenesis of hPDMCs in vitro and then embedded the hPDMCs into an atelocollagen gel to make a cartilage-like tissue with chondrogenic induction media. For in vivo assay, preinduced hPDMCs embedded in collagen sponges were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice and also into nude rats with osteochondral defect. The results of these in vivo and in vitro studies suggested that hPDMCs can be one of the possible allogeneic cell sources for tissue engineering of cartilage.     

Advances in tissue and organ replacement

Applications of regenerative medicine technology may offer new therapies for patients with injuries, end-stage organ failure, or other clinical problems. Currently, patients suffering from diseased and injured organs can be treated with transplanted organs. However, there is a shortage of donor organs that is worsening yearly as the population ages and new cases of organ failure increase. Scientists in the field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering are now applying the principles of cell transplantation, material science, and bioengineering to construct biological substitutes that will restore and maintain normal function in diseased and injured tissues. The stem cell field is a rapidly advancing aspect of regenerative medicine as well, and new discoveries here create new options for this type of therapy. For example, therapeutic cloning, in which the nucleus from a donor cell is transferred into an enucleated oocyte in order to extract pluripotent embryonic stem cells from the resultant embryo, provides another source of cells for cell-based tissue engineering applications. While stem cells are still in the research phase, some therapies arising from tissue engineering endeavors have already entered the clinical setting, indicating that regenerative medicine holds promise for the future.     

Perinatal stem cells: A promising cell resource for tissue engineering of craniofacial bone

In facing the mounting clinical challenge and suboptimal techniques of craniofacial bone defects resulting from various conditions, such as congenital malformations, osteomyelitis, trauma and tumor resection, the ongoing research of regenerative medicine using stem cells and concurrent advancement in biotechnology have shifted the focus from surgical reconstruction to a novel stem cell-based tissue engineering strategy for customized and functional craniofacial bone regeneration. Given the unique ontogenetical and cell biological properties of perinatal stem cells, emerging evidence has suggested these extraembryonic tissue-derived stem cells to be a promising cell source for extensive use in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. In this review, we summarize the current achievements and obstacles in stem cell-based craniofacial bone regeneration and subsequently we address the characteristics of various types of perinatal stem cells and their novel application in tissue engineering of craniofacial bone. We propose the promising feasibility and scope of perinatal stem cell-based craniofacial bone tissue engineering for future clinical application.     

Potential of embryonic and adult stem cells in vitro

Recent developments in the field of stem cell research indicate their enormous potential as a source of tissue for regenerative therapies. The success of such applications will depend on the precise properties and potentials of stem cells isolated either from embryonic, fetal or adult tissues. Embryonic stem cells established from the inner cell mass of early mouse embryos are characterized by nearly unlimited proliferation, and the capacity to differentiate into derivatives of essentially all lineages. The recent isolation and culture of human embryonic stem cell lines presents new opportunities for reconstructive medicine. However, important problems remain; first, the derivation of human embryonic stem cells from in vitro fertilized blastocysts creates ethical problems, and second, the current techniques for the directed differentiation into somatic cell populations yield impure products with tumorigenic potential. Recent studies have also suggested an unexpectedly wide developmental potential of adult tissue-specific stem cells. Here too, many questions remain concerning the nature and status of adult stem cells both in vivo and in vitro and their proliferation and differentiation/transdifferentiation capacity. This review focuses on those issues of embryonic and adult stem cell biology most relevant to their in vitro propagation and differentiation. Questions and problems related to the use of human embryonic and adult stem cells in tissue regeneration and transplantation are discussed.     

Prospects for translational regenerative medicine

Translational medicine is an evolutional concept that encompasses the rapid translation of basic research for use in clinical disease diagnosis, prevention and treatment. It follows the idea "from bench to bedside and back", and hence relies on cooperation between laboratory research and clinical care. In the past decade, translational medicine has received unprecedented attention from scientists and clinicians and its fundamental principles have penetrated throughout biomedicine, offering a sign post that guides modern medical research toward a patient-centered focus. Translational regenerative medicine is still in its infancy, and significant basic research investment has not yet achieved satisfactory clinical outcomes for patients. In particular, there are many challenges associated with the use of cell- and tissue-based products for clinical therapies. This review summarizes the transformation and global progress in translational medicine over the past decade. The current obstacles and opportunities in translational regenerative medicine are outlined in the context of stem cell therapy and tissue engineering for the safe and effective regeneration of functional tissue. This review highlights the requirement for multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary cooperation to ensure the development of the best possible regenerative therapies within the shortest timeframe possible for the greatest patient benefit.     

Human adult pluripotency: Facts and questions

Cellular reprogramming and induced pluripotent stem cell(IPSC) technology demonstrated the plasticity of adult cell fate, opening a new era of cellular modelling and introducing a versatile therapeutic tool for regenerative medicine.While IPSCs are already involved in clinical trials for various regenerative purposes, critical questions concerning their medium-and long-term genetic and epigenetic stability still need to be answered. Pluripotent stem cells have been described in the last decades in various mammalian and human tissues(such as bone marrow, blood and adipose tissue). We briefly describe the characteristics of human-derived adult stem cells displaying in vitro and/or in vivo pluripotency while highlighting that the common denominators of their isolation or occurrence within tissue are represented by extreme cellular stress. Spontaneous cellular reprogramming as a survival mechanism favoured by senescence and cellular scarcity could represent an adaptative mechanism. Reprogrammed cells could initiate tissue regeneration or tumour formation dependent on the microenvironment characteristics. Systems biology approaches and lineage tracing within living tissues can be used to clarify the origin of adult pluripotent stem cells and their significance for regeneration and disease.     

Clinical translation of stem cells: insight for cartilage therapies

Abstract

The limited regenerative capacity of articular cartilage and deficiencies of current treatments have motivated the investigation of new repair technologies. In vitro cartilage generation using primary cell sources is limited by cell availability and expansion potential. Pluripotent stem cells possess the capacity for chondrocytic differentiation and extended expansion, providing a potential future solution to cell-based cartilage regeneration. However, despite successes in producing cartilage using adult and embryonic stem cells, the translation of these technologies to the clinic has been severely limited. This review discusses recent advances in stem cell-based cartilage tissue engineering and the major current limitations to clinical translation of these products. Concerns regarding appropriate animal models and studies, stem cell manufacturing, and relevant regulatory processes and guidelines will be addressed. Understanding the significant hurdles limiting the clinical use of stem cell-based cartilage may guide future developments in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.     

Stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine in China

Stem cells are the core of tissue repair and regeneration,and a promising cell source for novel therapies.In recent years,research into stem cell therapies has been particularly exciting in China.The remarkable advancements in basic stem cell research and clinically effective trials have led to fresh insights into regenerative medicine,such as treatments for sweat gland injury after burns,diabetes,and liver injury.High hopes have inspired numerous experimental and clinical trials.At the same time,government investment and policy support of research continues to increase markedly.However,numerous challenges must be overcome before novel stem cell therapies can achieve meaningful clinical outcomes.