Stem Cell-Based Tissue Engineering

1
Stem Cell-Based Tissue Engineering Michael
Cho, Ph.D. Bioengineering Grant Support National
Institutes of Health (RO1), Office of Naval
Research
Problem Statement and Motivation
Current Tissue Engineering Strategies

• The costs associated with tissue loss or organ
  failure have been estimated over several hundreds
  of billion dollars.
• Severe shortage of tissues and organs continues
  to persist and cannot adequately be overcome.
• Tissue engineering attempts to control,
  manipulate, and reconstitute tissues in vitro
  ultimately for in vivo use to repair and replace
  damage tissues, and therefore offers a viable
  alternative.
• Recently, the use of stem cells in tissue
  engineering has advanced exciting possibilities
  for numerous biomedical and clinical applications

Key Achievements and Future Goals
Technical Approach

• We have successfully created an in vitro
  articular cartilage using mesenchymal stem cells
  and nanofibers.
• We have enhanced and facilitated stem cell
  differentiation into bone cells by optimizing
  biochemical signal molecules with physical force.
• Exploiting electrical nature of cells, we have
  also demonstrated cell orientation and alignment
  in 3D tissue by applying non-invasive electrical
  stimulus.
• Future Translate these laboratory results to
  clinical settings, including animal models and
  eventually human trials. Ultimate goal is to
  engineer tissues that can be implanted to treat
  and regenerate lost and damage tissues.

• Both bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells
  and embryonic stem cell lines are used to
  engineer several tissues including bone and
  cartilage, just to name a few.
• Regulation of stem cell proliferation and
  tissue-specific differentiation by biochemical
  and physical cues appears to lead to enhanced
  regenerative capability that will likely result
  in desired integrity and functionality.
• The latest excitement in tissue engineering is
  to apply nanomaterials to mimic the native
  cellular environment at the nanoscale. This,
  combined with chemical and physical cues, is
  expected to provide an ideal 3D template for
  biocompatible scaffolds.