Taking the sting out of bone repair
Bone tissue engineering is theoretically now possible at a large scale. Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) researchers have developed small biodegradable and biocompatible supports that aid stem cell differentiation and multiplication as well as bone formation in living animal models.¹ Mesenchymal stem cells self-renew and differentiate into fat, muscle, bone, and cartilage cells, which makes them attractive for organ repair and regeneration. These stem cells can be isolated from different sources, such as the human placenta and fatty tissue. Human early mesenchymal stem cells (heMSCs), which are derived from fetal bone marrow, were thought to be best suited for bone healing, but were not readily accessible for therapeutic use. Existing approaches to expand stem cells for industrial applications tend to use two-dimensional materials as culture media, but their production yields are too low for clinical demand. Furthermore, stem cells typically n...