Advances in tissue engineering through stem cell-based co-culture.
Stem cells are the future in tissue engineering and regeneration. In a co-culture, stem cells not only provide a target cell source with multipotent differentiation capacity, but can also act as assisting cells that promote tissue homeostasis, metabolism, growth and repair. Their incorporation into co-culture systems seems to be important in the creation of complex tissues or organs. In this review, critical aspects of stem cell use in co-culture systems are discussed. Direct and indirect co-culture methodologies used in tissue engineering are described, along with various characteristics of cellular interactions in these systems. Direct cell-cell contact, cell-extracellular matrix interaction and signalling via soluble factors are presented. The advantages of stem cell co-culture strategies and their applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are portrayed through specific examples for several tissues, including orthopaedic soft tissues, bone, heart, vasculature, lung, kidney, liver and nerve. A concise review of the progress and the lessons learned are provided, with a focus on recent developments and their implications. It is hoped that knowledge developed from one tissue can be translated to other tissues. Finally, we address challenges in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine that can potentially be overcome via employing strategies for stem cell co-culture use.
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopedic Surgery, University of California at Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
Nikolaos K
NK
Paschos
Wendy E
WE
Brown
Rajalakshmanan
R
Eswaramoorthy
Jerry C
JC
Hu
Kyriacos A
KA
Athanasiou
D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
cellular interaction; co-culture; direct co-culture; indirect co-culture; regenerative medicine; repair; stem cells; tissue engineering