Tissue Engineering in Stomatology: A Review of Potential Approaches for Oral Disease Treatments

Tissue engineering is an emerging discipline that combines engineering and life sciences. It can construct functional biological structures in vivo or in vitro to replace native tissues or organs and minimize serious shortages of donor organs during tissue and organ reconstruction or transplantation. Organ transplantation has achieved success by using the tissue-engineered heart, liver, kidney, and other artificial organs, and the emergence of tissue-engineered bone also provides a new approach for the healing of human bone defects. In recent years, tissue engineering technology has gradually become an important technical method for dentistry research, and its application in stomatology-related research has also obtained impressive achievements. The purpose of this review is to summarize the research advances of tissue engineering and its application in stomatology. These aspects include tooth, periodontal, dental implant, cleft palate, oral and maxillofacial skin or mucosa, and oral and maxillofacial bone tissue engineering. In addition, this article also summarizes the commonly used cells, scaffolds, and growth factors in stomatology and discusses the limitations of tissue engineering in stomatology from the perspective of cells, scaffolds, and clinical applications.

DEVELOPMENTAL STATUS AND PERSPECTIVES FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING IN UROLOGY

Tissue engineering technology and tissue cell-based stem cell research have made great strides in treating tissue and organ damage, correcting tissue and organ dysfunction, and reducing surgical complications. In the past, traditional methods have used biological substitutes for tissue repair materials, while tissue engineering technology has focused on merging sperm cells with biological materials to form biological tissues with the same structure and function as their own tissues. The advantage is that tissue engineering technology can overcome donors. Material procurement restrictions can effectively reduce complications. The aim of studying tissue engineering technology is to find sperm cells and suitable biological materials to replace the original biological functions of tissues and to establish a suitable in vivo microenvironment. This article mainly describes the current developments of tissue engineering in various fields of urology and discusses the future trends of tissue engineering technology in the treatment of complex diseases of the urinary system. The results of the research in this article indicate that while the current clinical studies are relatively few, the good results from existing animal model studies indicate good prospects of tissue engineering technology for the treatment of various urinary tract diseases in the future. Key words: Tissue engineering, kidney, ureter, bladder, urethra

Scaffold strategies combined with mesenchymal stem cells in vaginal construction: a review

Tissue engineering has provided new treatment alternatives for tissue reconstruction. Advances in the tissue engineering field have resulted in mechanical support and biological substitutes to restore, maintain or improve tissue/organs structures and functions. The application of tissue engineering technology in the vaginal reconstruction treatment can not only provide mechanical requirements, but also offer tissue repairing as an alternative to traditional approaches. In this review, we discuss recent advances in cell-based therapy in combination with scaffolds strategies that can potentially be adopted for gynaecological transplantation.

A Bibliometric Review of Artificial Extracellular Matrices Based on Tissue Engineering Technology Literature: 1990 through 2019

Artificial extracellular matrices (aECMs) are an extension of biomaterials that were developed as in-vitro model environments for tissue cells that mimic the native in vivo target tissues’ structure. This bibliometric analysis evaluated the research productivity regarding aECM based on tissue engineering technology. The Web of Science citation index was examined for articles published from 1990 through 2019 using three distinct aECM-related topic sets. Data were also visualized using network analyses (VOSviewer). Terms related to in-vitro, scaffolds, collagen, hydrogels, and differentiation were reoccurring in the aECM-related literature over time. Publications with terms related to a clinical direction (wound healing, stem cells, artificial skin, in-vivo, and bone regeneration) have steadily increased, as have the number of countries and institutions involved in the artificial extracellular matrix. As progress with 3D scaffolds continues to advance, it will become the most promising technology to provide a therapeutic option to repair or replace damaged tissue.

Smurf1-targeting miR-19b-3p-modified BMSCs combined PLLA composite scaffold to enhance osteogenic activity and treat critical-sized bone defects

Over the past few years, tissue-engineering technology provided a new direction for bone defects therapy, which involved developing applicable biological materials composite with seed cells to repair bone defects tissue.

Mapping and Analysis of Technology Roadmap of Stem Cell Industry ─Taking Industrial Planning and Development of Guangdong Province as An Example

As1the most revolutionary technology in cell therapy, stem cell technology will give birth to a series of new biotechnology, drive the development of the pharmaceutical industry, and lead the future of biological economy. Guangdong province has a good foundation for stem cell R&D and has set up a project named "Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Technology" to make breakthroughs in core technologies of stem cell research. In this paper, it is of great significance to compile the industrial technology roadmap and clarify the key points of stem cell and tissue engineering industry through the research to provide reference for the decision-making in Guangdong province.

Urinary bladder reconstruction using autologous collagenous connective tissue membrane “Biosheet” induced by in-body tissue architecture

Background: Tissue engineering technology has the potential for bladder reconstruction without complications. We have previously developed autologous collagenous prosthetic tissues using in-body tissue architecture (iBTA). This is a cell-free tissue engineering technology that can produce autologous implantable tissues be a desired shape by simple subcutaneous embedding of a specially designed mold. Grafts formed by iBTA can be made in any shape and form, including sheet-shaped tissues (Biosheet). In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of autologous Biosheet as bladder repair material in a canine bladder defect model. Methods: We studied four healthy adult beagles (1-2 years old, 9.3-9.9 kg). Autologous Biosheets were prepared by embedding specially designed molds into subcutaneous pouches in the beagles. Eight weeks after implantation, the molds were extracted, and collagenous connective tissues surrounding the molds were harvested as autologous Biosheet. The urinary bladder wall was excised (2 cm × 2 cm) and autologous Biosheets were sutured to the cut edge of the native bladder using a simple continuous suture pattern. The efficacy of implantation of the Biosheets was evaluated by physical examination, blood tests, abdominal ultrasound, urinalysis, and urography, at 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 84 days after the implantation. The Biosheets were extracted at 28 days (n=1) and 84 days (n=3) after implantation. Results: No side-effects were observed during follow-up. No disruption of the sheet or any urinary leakage into the peritoneal cavity was observed. Histological analysis revealed α-SMA-positive muscle fibers at the margin of the Biosheets, indicating regeneration of the urinary bladder tissue. Conclusion: This is the first report evaluating the efficacy and safety of iBTA-induced autologous “Biosheets” as a bladder repair material in a canine model. In summary, autologous Biosheets could be useful biomaterials for urological reconstruction.