Stem Cell Differentiation Depending on Different Surfaces - Tissue Engineering: Cell-Surface Interactions for Tissue Culture - page 264

Abbreviations

3D Three-dimensional

AD adipose

BM Bone marrow

ECM Extracellular matrix

ERK Extracellular-signal-regulated kinase

HAP Hydroxyapatite

hMSC Human mesenchymal stem cells

MSC Mesenchymal stem cells

UC Umbilical cord

Contents

1 Introduction........................................................................................................................ 264

2 Bone-Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Alternatives ..................... 265

3 Biomaterials as an Artificial Extracellular Matrix........................................................... 265

4 The Influence of Biomaterial Properties on Stem Cell Differentiation .......................... 267

4.1 Porosity and Pore Size ............................................................................................. 268

4.2 Biomaterial Stiffness ................................................................................................ 270

4.3 Microscale and Nanoscale Topography ................................................................... 270

4.4 Geometry................................................................................................................... 272

4.5 Composite Materials ................................................................................................. 273

5 Sensing the Microenvironment ......................................................................................... 275

6 Further Perspectives .......................................................................................................... 277

References ................................................................................................................................ 278

1 Introduction

Tissue engineering is a young and interdisciplinary field of biotechnology which
aims at regeneration or replacement of defective tissues. To achieve full regen-
eration of a tissue, many scientific and technical questions have to be answered and
the optimal parameters for each tissue have to be defined.
Generally, there are three approaches in tissue engineering [ 1 ]:

1. The isolation of cells to inject them into the damaged region, in order to support
the needed function.
2. The introduction of growth and differentiation factors into the target location.
3. The use of three-dimensional (3D) biomaterials in combination with cells.

The first two approaches can only be considered for small defects; therefore, the
seeding of cells on a 3D matrix has become the method of choice. Within this
approach, the selection of the cell type and the composition of the culture medium
play an important role. The influence of soluble or immobilized growth factors on