Recent Advances in Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering

Abstract

The clinical application of stem cells in tissue engineering and regeneration is becoming more significant. However, its application has been limited by issues like reproducibility of the stem cells, ethical concerns of harvesting some of these stem cells, and controlling the fate of stem cells in vitro and in vivo. The advent of tissue engineering and regen- eration has led to the fabrication of advanced biomaterials and scaffolds with enhanced ability to mimic and control the cellular microenvironment similar to that of innate stem cell niche. Combining the use of stem cells with biomaterials and scaffolds especially synthetic hydrogels that have exhibited physicochemical abilities and properties similar to native niche can be the future of tissue engineering in terms of formation of new tis- sues like bones. Recently, there has an increase in the use of either endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), or adult mesenchymal stem cells in preclinical studies: however this is yet to be transferred to clinical setups as there are limitations in terms of regulations and ethical considerations. The purpose of this review is to give comprehensive details about the application of stem cells in tissue engineering