title: Engineering the extracellular matrix for clinical applications: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm.
abstract: Tissue engineering is rapidly progressing from a research-based discipline to clinical applications. Emerging technologies could be utilized to develop therapeutics for a wide range of diseases, but many are contingent on a cell scaffold that can produce proper tissue ultrastructure. The extracellular matrix, which a cell scaffold simulates, is not merely a foundation for tissue growth but a dynamic participant in cellular crosstalk and organ homeostasis. Cells change their growth rates, recruitment, and differentiation in response to the composition, modulus, and patterning of the substrate on which they reside. Cell scaffolds can regulate these factors through precision design, functionalization, and application. The ideal therapy would utilize highly specialized cell scaffolds to best mimic the tissue of interest. This paper discusses advantages and challenges of optimized cell scaffold design in the endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm for clinical applications in tracheal transplant, cardiac regeneration, and skin grafts, respectively.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Miguel L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Sujata K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Bhatia
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004707:Endoderm / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
keywords: Ectoderm; Endoderm; Extracellular matrix; Mesoderm; Tissue engineering