Tissue Engineering Questions and Answers Rated A+

Tissue Engineering Questions and Answers Rated A+ Tissue Engineering An interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of engineering and life sciences toward the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function. Stem Cells A cell that has the ability to self renew and differentiate into various other specialized cell types. Cells in Tissue Engineering Cell Location (based on tissue types): - Skin cells for skin tissue engineering - Chondrocytes for cartilage tissue engineering cells sources: autologous, allogenic, xenogenic - Stem cells for various tissue engineering: embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS), adult stem cells Scaffold in Tissue Engineering - Natural Scaffolds - Synthetic Scaffolds - Polymers - Ceramics - Nano/micro tubes and fibers - Composites Bioreactors - System where conditions are closely controlled to permit and induce a certain behavior in living cells or tissues - Provide controlled and steady flow of cell media - Factors necessary for cell growth: pH, temp., pressure, nutrient supply, waste removal - Type of Bioreactors: spinner flasks, rotating vessels, hollow fiber, perfusion reactors Two Key Features of Stem Cells - Self-renewal capacity (can copy themselves) - Multi-differentiation potency (can differentiate to different cell environments) Types of Stem Cells Totipotent: cells can develop into a new individual cells from early embryos (1-3 days) Pluripotent: cells can give rise to any fetal or adult cell type (over 220); the inner cell mass of blastocyst from early embryo (5 to 14 days) Multipotent: cells can give rise to cells from multiple, but a limited number of lineages; cord blood and adult stem cells Major Stem Cells Types used in Tissue Engineering Pluripotent Stem Cells: 1. embryonic stem cells (ESC) 2. induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) Multipotent Stem Cells: 1. bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells 2. adipose mesenchymal stem cells Embryonic Stem Cells Strengths: - Highest level of pluripotency - Unlimited self-renewal Limitations: - Teratoma (tumor) formation - Immune response - Animal pathogens - Ethics Pluripotent Stem Cells: Human Embryonic Stem Cells - hESCs are pluripotent stem cells derived from a 5-6 day old embryo. They have the ability to form virtually any type of cell found in the human body.