Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of cells,engineering,materials methods,and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore,maintain,improve,or replace different types of biological tissues. Tissue engineering often involves the use of cells placed on tissue scaffolds in the formation of new viable tissue for a medical purpose,but is not limited to applications involving cells and tissue scaffolds. While it was once categorized as a sub-field of biomaterials,having grown in scope and importance,it can is considered as a field of its own.
Cadherins (named for "calcium-dependent adhesion") are cell adhesion molecules important in forming adherens junctions that let cells adhere to each other. Cadherins are a class of type-1 transmembrane proteins,and they depend on calcium (Ca2+) ions to function,hence their name. Cell-cell adhesion is mediated by extracellular cadherin domains,whereas the intracellular cytoplasmic tail associates with numerous adaptors and signaling proteins,collectively referred to as the cadherin adhesome.
Ali Khademhosseini is the CEO of the Terasaki Institute,non-profit research organization in Los Angeles,and Omeat Inc.,a cultivated-meat startup. Before taking his current CEO roles,he spent one year at Amazon Inc. Prior to that he was the Levi Knight chair and professor at the University of California-Los Angeles where he held a multi-departmental professorship in Bioengineering,Radiology,Chemical,and Biomolecular Engineering as well as the Director of Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT). From 2005 to 2017,he was a professor at Harvard Medical School,and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.
Kruppel-like factor 4 is a member of the KLF family of zinc finger transcription factors,which belongs to the relatively large family of SP1-like transcription factors. KLF4 is involved in the regulation of proliferation,differentiation,apoptosis and somatic cell reprogramming. Evidence also suggests that KLF4 is a tumor suppressor in certain cancers,including colorectal cancer. It has three C2H2-zinc fingers at its carboxyl terminus that are closely related to another KLF,KLF2. It has two nuclear localization sequences that signals it to localize to the nucleus. In embryonic stem cells (ESCs),KLF4 has been demonstrated to be a good indicator of stem-like capacity. It is suggested that the same is true in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CDCP1 gene. CDCP1 has also been designated as CD318 and Trask. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been reported.
Intravital microscopy is a form of microscopy that allows observing biological processes in live animals at a high resolution that makes distinguishing between individual cells of a tissue possible.
Sangeeta N. Bhatia is an American biological engineer and the John J. and Dorothy Wilson Professor at MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge,Massachusetts,United States. Bhatia's research investigates applications of micro- and nano-technology for tissue repair and regeneration. She applies ideas from computer technology and engineering to the design of miniaturized biomedical tools for the study and treatment of diseases,in particular liver disease,hepatitis,malaria and cancer.
An organ-on-a-chip (OOC) is a multi-channel 3-D microfluidic cell culture,integrated circuit (chip) that simulates the activities,mechanics and physiological response of an entire organ or an organ system. It constitutes the subject matter of significant biomedical engineering research,more precisely in bio-MEMS. The convergence of labs-on-chips (LOCs) and cell biology has permitted the study of human physiology in an organ-specific context. By acting as a more sophisticated in vitro approximation of complex tissues than standard cell culture,they provide the potential as an alternative to animal models for drug development and toxin testing.
Three dimensional (3D) bioprinting is the utilization of 3D printing–like techniques to combine cells,growth factors,bio-inks,and/or biomaterials to fabricate biomedical parts that imitate natural tissue characteristics,form functional biofilms,and assist in the removal of pollutants. 3D bioprinting has uses in fields such as wastewater treatment,environmental remediation,and corrosion prevention. 3D bioprinting can produce functional biofilms which can assist in a variety of situations. The 3D bioprinted biofilms host functional microorganisms which can facilitate pollutant removal. Generally,3D bioprinting can utilize a layer-by-layer method to deposit materials known as bio-inks to create tissue-like structures that are later used in various medical and tissue engineering fields. 3D bioprinting covers a broad range of bioprinting techniques and biomaterials. Currently,bioprinting can be used to print tissue and organ models to help research drugs and potential treatments. Nonetheless,translation of bioprinted living cellular constructs into clinical application is met with several issues due to the complexity and cell number necessary to create functional organs. However,innovations span from bioprinting of extracellular matrix to mixing cells with hydrogels deposited layer by layer to produce the desired tissue. In addition,3D bioprinting has begun to incorporate the printing of scaffolds which can be used to regenerate joints and ligaments.
In molecular biology mir-367 microRNA is a short RNA molecule. MicroRNAs function to regulate the expression levels of other genes by several mechanisms.
The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex ecosystem surrounding a tumor,composed of a variety of non-cancerous cells including blood vessels,immune cells,fibroblasts,signaling molecules and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Mutual interaction between cancer cells and the different components of the TME support its growth and invasion in healthy tissues which correlates with tumor resistance to current treatments and poor prognosis. Tumors can influence the microenvironment by releasing extracellular signals,promoting tumor angiogenesis and inducing peripheral immune tolerance,while the immune cells in the microenvironment can affect the growth and evolution of cancerous cells.
The in vivo bioreactor is a tissue engineering paradigm that uses bioreactor methodology to grow neotissue in vivo that augments or replaces malfunctioning native tissue. Tissue engineering principles are used to construct a confined,artificial bioreactor space in vivo that hosts a tissue scaffold and key biomolecules necessary for neotissue growth. Said space often requires inoculation with pluripotent or specific stem cells to encourage initial growth,and access to a blood source. A blood source allows for recruitment of stem cells from the body alongside nutrient delivery for continual growth. This delivery of cells and nutrients to the bioreactor eventually results in the formation of a neotissue product.
Human engineered cardiac tissues (hECTs) are derived by experimental manipulation of pluripotent stem cells,such as human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and,more recently,human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to differentiate into human cardiomyocytes. Interest in these bioengineered cardiac tissues has risen due to their potential use in cardiovascular research and clinical therapies. These tissues provide a unique in vitro model to study cardiac physiology with a species-specific advantage over cultured animal cells in experimental studies. hECTs also have therapeutic potential for in vivo regeneration of heart muscle. hECTs provide a valuable resource to reproduce the normal development of human heart tissue,understand the development of human cardiovascular disease (CVD),and may lead to engineered tissue-based therapies for CVD patients.
Antonios Georgios Mikos is a Greek-American biomedical engineer who is the Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University. He specialises in biomaterials,drug delivery,and tissue engineering.
Akhilesh K. Gaharwar is an Indian academic and a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. The goal of his lab is to understand the cell-nanomaterials interactions and to develop nanoengineered strategies for modulating stem cell behavior for repair and regeneration of damaged tissue.
Joyce Y. Wong is an American engineer who is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at Boston University. Her research develops novel biomaterials for the early detection treatment of disease. Wong is the Inaugural Director of the Provost's Initiative to promote gender equality and inclusion in STEM at all levels:Advance,Recruit,Retain and Organize Women in STEM. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Society.
Cheng-Ming Chuong is a Taiwanese-American biomedical scientist.
Milica Radisic is a Serbian Canadian tissue engineer,academic and researcher. She is a professor at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering,and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. She co-founded TARA Biosystems and is a senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute.
Erika Moore Taylor is a biomedical engineer,scientist,assistant professor,"Forbes 30 under 30 honoree," financial advisor,and the founder of a scholarship program that has been featured on CNBC.
Valerie M. Weaver is a professor and the director of the Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration in the department of surgery and co-director Bay Area Center for Physical Sciences and Oncology at the University of California San Francisco (USA). She has been working and leading oncology research for more than 20 years. Her scientific contributions have been recognised by different awards. She was the first woman to receive the Shu Chien Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society in 2022,which honours contributions in the cellular and molecular bioengineering field.
