Brenda Cruz-Gonzalez, Ellie Johandes, Dominique Gramm, Donny Hanjaya-Putra
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Biomaterial-assisted stem cell therapies hold immense promise for regenerative medicine, yet clinical translation remains challenging. This review focuses on recent advances and persistent limitations in applying induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs), multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) within engineered microenvironments. We introduce a novel "bottom-up" approach to biomaterial design. This approach focuses first on understanding the fundamental biological properties and microenvironmental needs of stem cells, then engineering cell-instructive biomaterials to support them. Unlike conventional methods that adapt cells to pre-existing materials, this strategy prioritizes designing biomaterials from the molecular level upward to address key challenges, including differentiation variability, incomplete matching of iPSCs to somatic counterparts, functional maturity of derived cells, and survival of ECFCs/MSCs in therapeutic niches. By replicating lineage-specific mechanical, chemical, and spatial cues, these tailored biomaterials enhance differentiation fidelity, reprogramming efficiency, and functional integration. This paradigm shift from passive scaffolds to dynamic, cell-instructive platforms bridges critical gaps between laboratory success and clinical translation, offering a transformative roadmap for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.
期刊介绍：
The translation of new discoveries in medicine to clinical routine has never been easy. During the second half of the last century, thanks to the progress in chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology, we have seen the development and the application of a large number of drugs and devices aimed at the treatment of symptoms, blocking unwanted pathways and, in the case of infectious diseases, fighting the micro-organisms responsible. However, we are facing, today, a dramatic change in the therapeutic approach to pathologies and diseases. Indeed, the challenge of the present and the next decade is to fully restore the physiological status of the diseased organism and to completely regenerate tissue and organs when they are so seriously affected that treatments cannot be limited to the repression of symptoms or to the repair of damage. This is being made possible thanks to the major developments made in basic cell and molecular biology, including stem cell science, growth factor delivery, gene isolation and transfection, the advances in bioengineering and nanotechnology, including development of new biomaterials, biofabrication technologies and use of bioreactors, and the big improvements in diagnostic tools and imaging of cells, tissues and organs.
In today`s world, an enhancement of communication between multidisciplinary experts, together with the promotion of joint projects and close collaborations among scientists, engineers, industry people, regulatory agencies and physicians are absolute requirements for the success of any attempt to develop and clinically apply a new biological therapy or an innovative device involving the collective use of biomaterials, cells and/or bioactive molecules. “Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology” aspires to be a forum for all people involved in the process by bridging the gap too often existing between a discovery in the basic sciences and its clinical application.
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