NanoCore, Engineering Block A, EA, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117576, Singapore.
Biotechnol Adv. 2013 Sep-Oct;31(5):654-68. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2012.08.001. Epub 2012 Aug 9.
Tissue engineering is a clinically driven field and has emerged as a potential alternative to organ transplantation. The cornerstone of successful tissue engineering rests upon two essential elements: cells and scaffolds. Recently, it was found that stem cells have unique capabilities of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation to serve as a versatile cell source, while nanomaterials have lately emerged as promising candidates in producing scaffolds able to better mimic the nanostructure in natural extracellular matrix and to efficiently replace defective tissues. This article, therefore, reviews the key developments in tissue engineering, where the combination of stem cells and nanomaterial scaffolds has been utilized over the past several years. We consider the high potential, as well as the main issues related to the application of stem cells and nanomaterial scaffolds for a range of tissues including bone, cartilage, nerve, liver, eye etc. Promising in vitro results such as efficient attachment, proliferation and differentiation of stem cells have been compiled in a series of examples involving different nanomaterials. Furthermore, the merits of the marriage of stem cells and nanomaterial scaffolds are also demonstrated in vivo, providing early successes to support subsequent clinical investigations. This progress simultaneously drives mechanistic research into the mechanotransduction process responsible for the observations in order to optimize the process further. Current understanding is chiefly reported to involve the interaction of stem cells and the anchoring nanomaterial scaffolds by activating various signaling pathways. Substrate surface characteristics and scaffold bulk properties are also reported to influence not only short term stem cell adhesion, spreading and proliferation, but also longer term lineage differentiation, functionalization and viability. It is expected that the combination of stem cells and nanomaterials will develop into an important tool in tissue engineering for the innovative treatment of many diseases.
组织工程是一个以临床为导向的领域，已成为器官移植的潜在替代方法。成功组织工程的基石取决于两个基本要素：细胞和支架。最近发现，干细胞具有独特的自我更新和多能分化能力，可以作为一种通用的细胞来源，而纳米材料最近也成为制造支架的有前途的候选材料，这些支架能够更好地模拟天然细胞外基质的纳米结构，并有效地替代有缺陷的组织。因此，本文综述了组织工程的关键进展，其中在过去几年中已经将干细胞和纳米材料支架结合使用。我们考虑了干细胞和纳米材料支架在包括骨骼、软骨、神经、肝脏、眼睛等多种组织中的应用的高潜力以及主要问题。在一系列涉及不同纳米材料的例子中，已经汇总了干细胞有效附着、增殖和分化的有希望的体外结果。此外，干细胞和纳米材料支架结合的优点也在体内得到了证明，为后续的临床研究提供了早期成功的支持。这一进展同时推动了对负责观察结果的机械转导过程的机制研究，以进一步优化该过程。目前的研究主要集中在干细胞与锚定纳米材料支架的相互作用上，通过激活各种信号通路来实现。基底表面特性和支架体性质不仅影响短期干细胞的黏附、扩散和增殖，而且还影响长期的谱系分化、功能化和存活。预计干细胞和纳米材料的结合将成为组织工程中的一个重要工具，用于创新治疗许多疾病。
