Department of Mechanical Engineering, Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine, University of Sheffield , Sheffield , UK.
Department of Materials, Loughborough University , Loughborough , UK.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2016 Jan 11;3:206. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2015.00206. eCollection 2015.
The increased incidence of diabetes and tumors, associated with global demographic issues (aging and life styles), has pointed out the importance to develop new strategies for the effective management of skin wounds. Individuals affected by these diseases are in fact highly exposed to the risk of delayed healing of the injured tissue that typically leads to a pathological inflammatory state and consequently to chronic wounds. Therapies based on stem cells (SCs) have been proposed for the treatment of these wounds, thanks to the ability of SCs to self-renew and specifically differentiate in response to the target bimolecular environment. Here, we discuss how advanced biomedical devices can be developed by combining SCs with properly engineered biomaterials and computational models. Examples include composite skin substitutes and bioactive dressings with controlled porosity and surface topography for controlling the infiltration and differentiation of the cells. In this scenario, mathematical frameworks for the simulation of cell population growth can provide support for the design of bioconstructs, reducing the need of expensive, time-consuming, and ethically controversial animal experimentation.
随着全球人口问题（老龄化和生活方式）的出现，糖尿病和肿瘤的发病率不断上升，这就凸显出开发新策略来有效管理皮肤伤口的重要性。患有这些疾病的个体实际上极易面临受伤组织愈合延迟的风险，这通常会导致病理性炎症状态，并最终导致慢性伤口。基于干细胞 (SCs) 的疗法已被提议用于治疗这些伤口，这要归功于SCs 自我更新和专门分化以响应目标双分子环境的能力。在这里，我们讨论了如何通过将SCs 与经过适当工程设计的生物材料和计算模型相结合来开发先进的生物医学设备。示例包括具有控制孔隙率和表面形貌的复合皮肤替代物和生物活性敷料，以控制细胞的渗透和分化。在这种情况下，用于模拟细胞群体生长的数学框架可以为生物构建体的设计提供支持，从而减少对昂贵、耗时且在伦理上有争议的动物实验的需求。
