Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, JS 226001, China.
Key Laboratory of Tissue Repair and Regeneration of PLA, College of Life Sciences, PLA Medical College, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China.
Biomaterials. 2017 Apr;124:78-94. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.01.044. Epub 2017 Feb 3.
Regenerative medicine is a burgeoning interdisciplinary research field that can impact healthcare by offering new therapeutic strategies to replace or regenerate human cells, tissues, or organs with the ultimate goal of restoring or establishing normal human functions. The past decade has seen significant progress of regenerative medicine in China, the world's most populous developing country. With government backing, the progress in regenerative medicine is driven by increasing medical demands of people, accompanied by the economic growth, population aging, and lifestyle change in China. Although regenerative medicine encompasses many components, tissue engineering and stem cell technology are generally considered the two key players. In this review article, we outline the representative achievements in the research and application of tissue engineering, stem cell technology, and other regenerative medical strategies attained by various research groups in China, and highlight the major contributions and features of several outstanding studies made by leading Chinese researchers. Where possible, we discuss the unique opportunities and challenges for advancement of regenerative medicine in China. It is our hope that this review will stimulate new research directions for regenerative medicine in general, and encourage strategic collaborations between the east and the west in particular, so that the clinical translation of regenerative medicine can be accelerated to benefit mankind.
再生医学是一个新兴的跨学科研究领域，它可以通过提供新的治疗策略来替代或再生人类细胞、组织或器官，从而对医疗保健产生影响，其最终目标是恢复或建立正常的人体功能。在过去的十年中，中国作为世界上人口最多的发展中国家，在再生医学方面取得了重大进展。在中国，政府的支持、不断增长的医疗需求、经济增长、人口老龄化和生活方式的改变推动了再生医学的发展。尽管再生医学包含许多组成部分，但组织工程和干细胞技术通常被认为是两个关键因素。在这篇综述文章中，我们概述了中国各个研究小组在组织工程、干细胞技术和其他再生医学策略的研究和应用方面取得的代表性成就，并强调了几位杰出的中国研究人员的一些重要研究的主要贡献和特点。在可能的情况下，我们讨论了再生医学在中国取得进展的独特机遇和挑战。我们希望这篇综述能为再生医学的一般研究方向带来新的启发，并鼓励东西方之间的战略合作，从而加速再生医学的临床转化，造福人类。
