Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy - Volume 13, Issue 7, 2018

Hydrogels are degradable polymeric networks, in which cross-links play a vital role in structure formation and degradation. Cross-linking is a stabilization process in polymer chemistry that leads to the multi-dimensional extension of polymeric chains, resulting in network structures. By crosslinking, hydrogels are formed into stable structures that differ from their raw materials. Generally, hydrogels can be prepared from Read More

Background: Cartilage has limited ability for self-repairing, prompting the search for cartilage substitutes that can repair cartilage defects. Hydrogels have attracted attention as cartilage substitutes, since their mechanical properties, swelling ability and lubricating behavior are similar to extracellular matrix of articular cartilage. Hydrogels can be of natural, synthetic or hybrid origin, and hydrogels can encapsulate stem c Read More

Local cartilage or osteochondral lesions are painful and harmful. Besides pain and limited function of joints, cartilage defect is considered as one of the leading extrinsic risk factors for osteoarthritis (OA). Thus, clinicians and scientists have paid great attention to regenerative therapeutic methods for the early treatment of cartilaginous defects. Regenerative medicine, showing great hope for regenerating cartilage tissue, Read More

Cartilage, constituted with a relatively hypocellular structure and lacking of neural and vascular connections, is not a well self-repairing tissue. Cartilage tissue engineering involving bulk of biomaterials has been put forward as a strategy for articular cartilage lesions. The most complicated issue for cartilage repairing is to simulate the highly hierarchical structure, extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and even mechanical Read More

Cartilage tissue engineering is emerging as a therapeutic approach for the repair and regeneration of cartilage tissue defects resulting from trauma and disease. It is still essential to explore approaches that employ combinations of ideal seed cells, biomaterials, and growth factors to repair defect areas because cartilage lacks spontaneous regenerative capabilities and traditional treatments do not fully satisfy clinical r Read More

Cartilage tissue engineering is an emerging technique for the regeneration of cartilage tissue damaged as a result of trauma or disease. As the propensity for healing and regenerative capabilities of articular cartilage are limited, its repair remains one of the most challenging issues of musculoskeletal medicine. Clinical treatments intended to promote the success and complete repair of partial- and fullthickness articula Read More

Background: The articular cartilage is unique in that it contains only a single type of cell and shows poor ability for spontaneous healing. Currently, approaches for treating cartilage defects include surgical and nonsurgical approaches, as well as cartilage tissue engineering. For standard cartilage tissue engineering, three elements are required, i.e., a scaffold, growth factors, and seed cells. With advancements in stem cel Read More

Background: Cellular differentiation occurs in a complicated microenvironment containing multiple components including soluble factors and physical cues. In addition to biochemical composition, physical cues are also crucial in determining cellular behaviors. Objective: To better understand the interaction between physical signals and cells, we discuss the effects of physical cues on cellular behaviors, especially ch Read More

The management of chondral defects has been a challenge for a long time because of the poor self-healing capacity of articular cartilage. Many approaches ranging from symptomatic treatment to structural cartilage regeneration are not that successful with very limited satisfactory results. Chondral defects caused by tumor, trauma, infection, congenital malformations are very common in clinical trials. It seriously affects th Read More

Background: Cartilage injury has always been puzzled for clinicians. The treatments used clinically for cartilage injury usually bring about fibrocartilage. The emergence of tissue engineering lights up the hope of cartilage repair. Objective: This review will sum up the existing learnings about electrospun fibers, revolving about the electrospinning materials, micromorphology, improvements and electrospun technologies Read More

Cartilage, as a nanostructured tissue, because of its awfully poor capacity for inherent regeneration and complete hierarchical structure, is severely difficult to regenerate after damages. Tissue engineering methods have provided a great contribution for cartilage repair. Nanomaterials have special superiority in regulating stem cell behaviors due to their special mechanical and biological properties and biomimetic chara Read More

Nerve injury is a large problem that produces much pain in patients. Injury to the nervous system causes serious consequences and affects a person's quality of life. The development of tissue engineering has created a brighter future for nerve regeneration, and research has not stopped since the discovery of stem cells. Stem cells are a type of pluripotent cell that exhibits the capacity of selfdifferentiation and proliferation Read More