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Tissue Engineering: Simple Versus Complex Organs
Author(s) -
Taylor Doris
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.84.1
Subject(s) - decellularization , extracellular matrix , microbiology and biotechnology , tissue engineering , stem cell , cell fate determination , progenitor cell , wnt signaling pathway , regenerative medicine , neuroscience , biology , anatomy , medicine , biomedical engineering , signal transduction , transcription factor , biochemistry , gene
To date only “simple” bioengineered tissues have been FDA approved and are currently on the market. These tissues typically lack either vasculature or nerve innervation and are simple tubular or balloon‐like structures. In order to move forward with bioengineered organs, the challenges of developing sustainable vasculature and/or innervation still have to be overcome. Current success include engineered bladder, trachea, esophagus, and urethra. I will discuss the engineering of these “simpler” organs versus that of a complex tissue such as heart, one of the most complex organs to be bioengineered. Our approach involves the use of biologic matrices. Cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex architecturally‐organized mixture of proteins glycoamino‐, and proteo‐glycans that contains an embedded vascular network. In fact, during cardiac development, cell‐matrix interactions give rise to regional cell fate specifications. We hypothesize that ECM plays a critical role in stem cell fate, localization and function after tissue injury. We will show that decellularized ECM (dECM) composition and architecture provides physical, mechanical and biochemical cues that direct stem or progenitor cell fate – and that age, sex, and disease state can alter those biologic cues.