About this Research Topic
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely used in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to their pluripotency and self-renewal capabilities. They can be easily isolated from adipose tissue, the bone marrow, the umbilical cord, etc. With the development of medical research, they are effective in the treatment of many diseases, such as diabetic wounds, bone and cartilage disease, spinal cord injury, etc. Diverse biomaterials are potential options for mimics of in vivo microenvironments. Numerous studies have demonstrated that biomaterials can be used to maintain MSCs viability, provide optimal structural support and guide MSC behavior, including cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation. The cooperation of MSCs and biomaterial has the potential for cell expansion and tissue engineering, promoting MSC application prospects.
In most clinical applications, a large number of cells are required, commonly in the tens of millions. As a result, large-scale cell expansion in vitro, harmless passage, and complete harvest are highly needed. However, in vitro expansion may cause phenotypic changes and the loss of their stemness, and influence the function of expanded cells. Besides, major challenges upon material encapsulation and cell delivery include reduced cell viability and metabolic activity, loss of biological function and incapability to mediate directed growth.
This research topic aims to collect various strategies to develop biomaterials combined with MSCs that enable large-scale cell expansion, effective stem cell delivery and disease treatment. We welcome original research, reviews, or mini-reviews reporting promising recent and future research trends in this field. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
1. Biomaterials for efficient large-scale MSC expansion
2. Biomaterials encapsulation of MSCs for diabetic wound healing
3. Co-transplantation of MSCs and biomaterials for bone regeneration
4. Biomaterial-supported MSC transplantation for spinal cord injury
5. MSCs Combined With biomaterials increase angiogenesis in vivo
6. Establishment of in vitro model and study on the therapeutic mechanism of MSCs
In most clinical applications, a large number of cells are required, commonly in the tens of millions. As a result, large-scale cell expansion in vitro, harmless passage, and complete harvest are highly needed. However, in vitro expansion may cause phenotypic changes and the loss of their stemness, and influence the function of expanded cells. Besides, major challenges upon material encapsulation and cell delivery include reduced cell viability and metabolic activity, loss of biological function and incapability to mediate directed growth.
This research topic aims to collect various strategies to develop biomaterials combined with MSCs that enable large-scale cell expansion, effective stem cell delivery and disease treatment. We welcome original research, reviews, or mini-reviews reporting promising recent and future research trends in this field. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
1. Biomaterials for efficient large-scale MSC expansion
2. Biomaterials encapsulation of MSCs for diabetic wound healing
3. Co-transplantation of MSCs and biomaterials for bone regeneration
4. Biomaterial-supported MSC transplantation for spinal cord injury
5. MSCs Combined With biomaterials increase angiogenesis in vivo
6. Establishment of in vitro model and study on the therapeutic mechanism of MSCs
Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells, biomaterial, cell expansion, cell encapsulation, tissue engineering, disease treatment, therapeutic mechanism
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
