Tissue Engineering

Tissue Engineering can be defined as the use of a combination of stem cells, materials and engineering methods to improve or replace biological functions [Haseltine 2001 from Helder]. It can be regarded as a subset of Regenerative Medicine and typically involves the generation of an engineered construct by seeding biocompatible scaffolds with MSCs [Garcia-Castro 2008]

In this section we present summaries of the latest peer reviewed publications on clinical experience with the use of ASCs in tissue engineering.

Click on the left pane to read the summary texts and on the author’s name to see the full reference in the Cryo-Lip bibliography. We will update the content regularly but an easy way to stay updated about recent publications is to subscribe to our quarterly Cryo-Lip eNewsletter.

Bone

This paper was the 1st clinical publication using ASCs in humans.

Lendeckel, S

J Craniomaxillofac Surg

2004

ASC and fibrin glue to treat big traumatic calvarial defect

	Design		Case study of 7 yr old girl with extensive calvarial defects after head injury and chronic infection.

	Method		Autologous ASCs from fat were used in a single operation. Fibrin glue and resorbable macroporous sheets were used to achieve mechanical fixation.

	Result		CT-scans confirmed new bone formation and near complete calvarial continuity three months after reconstruction

	Conclusion		ASCs with resorbable sheets are a promising new treatment to repair skull defects

Cartilage

Wakitani, S

Osteoarthritis Cartilag

2002

MSC transplantation for repair of cartilage defects in osteoarthritic knees

	Design		Contolled trial in 24 patients with knee OA who underwent high tibial osteotomy

	Method		MSCs embedded in collagen gel and transplanted into cartilage defect in medial femoral condyle

	Results		At 42 weeks defects covered with white soft tissue, Arthroscopic and histological grading score was better in MSC group but clinical scores were equivalent

	Conclusion		MSCs in collagen gel a viable treatment for cartilage defects in OA

Skin

Falanga, V

Tissue Eng

2007

MSCs in fibrin spray accelerate healing in murine and human cutaneous wounds

	Design		BM MSCs were grown from 5 patinets with acute wounds and from 8 with chronic, non-healing leg ulcers

	Method		MSC were applied up to four times to wounds using a fibrin polymer spray system with a double-barreled syringe.

	Results		Application of cultured cells was safe, without treatment-related adverse events. Histology proved the regeneration of new elastic fibers. Direct corrletion between number of MSCs applied and reduction in wound size (p = 0.005). In addition, MSCs also stimulated closure of full-thickness wounds in diabetic mice.

	Conclusion		Autologius MSCs can be safely and effectively delivered to wounds using a fibrin spray

Tracheal Fistula

Alvarez, PD

Thorax

2008

A new bronchoscopic treatment of tracheomediastinal fistula using autologous ASCs

	Design		Case study of a patient with a tracheomediastinal fistula resulting from laser treatment of tracheal cancer.

	Method		Autologous ASCs obtained from lipoaspirate. Fistula treated by bronchoscopic injection of ASCs suspended in fibrin glue.

			No complications due to treatment with ASCs. Successful closure with postoperative bronchoscopic confirmation of wall and base of fistula re-epithelialisation and neovascularisation.

	Conclusion		Promising 1st report, further studies needed to cionfirm its use in routine practice.