Three dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a new biological tissue engineering technology in recent years. The development of 3D bioprinting is conducive to solving the current problems of clinical tissue and organ repairing. This article provides a review about the clinical and research status of 3D bioprinting and urinary system reconstruction. Furthermore, the feasibility and clinical value of 3D bioprinting in urinary system reconstruction will be also discussed.
Bioprinting ; trends ; Humans ; Printing, Three-Dimensional ; Tissue Engineering ; trends ; Urinary Tract

Bladder has many important functions as a urine storage and voiding organ. Bladder injury caused by various pathological factors may need bladder reconstruction. Currently the standard procedure for bladder reconstruction is gastrointestinal replacement. However, due to the significant difference in their structure and function, intestinal segment replacement may lead to complications such as hematuria, dysuria, calculi and tumor. With the recent advance in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, new techniques have emerged for the repair of bladder defects. This paper reviews the recent progress in three aspects of urinary bladder tissue engineering, i.e., seeding cells, scaffolds and growth factors.
Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Regenerative Medicine ; trends ; Tissue Engineering ; trends ; Tissue Scaffolds ; Urinary Bladder

Tissue engineering technology and stem cell research based on tissue engineering have made great progresses in overcoming the problems of tissue and organ damage, functional loss and surgical complications. Traditional method is to use biological substitute materials to repair tissues, while tissue engineering technology focuses on combining seed cells with biological materials to form biological tissues with the same structure and function as its own to repair tissue defects. The advantage is that such tissue engineering organs and tissues can solve the problem that the donor material is limited, and effectively reduce complications. The purpose of tissue engineering is to find suitable seed cells and biomaterials which can replace the biological function of original tissue and build suitable microenvironment . This paper mainly describes current technologies of tissue engineering in various fields of urology, and discusses the future trend of tissue engineering technology in the treatment of complex urinary diseases. The results of this study show that although there are relatively few clinical trials, the good results of the existing studies on animal models reveal a bright future of tissue engineering technology for the treatment of various urinary diseases.
Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Humans ; Tissue Engineering ; trends ; Tissue Scaffolds ; Urology ; trends

Bone defects caused by trauma, tumour resection, infection and congenital deformities, together with articular cartilage defects and cartilage-subchondral bone complex defects caused by trauma and degenerative diseases, remain great challenges for clinicians. Novel strategies utilising cell sheet technology to enhance bone and cartilage regeneration are being developed. The cell sheet technology has shown great clinical potential in regenerative medicine due to its effective preservation of cell-cell connections and extracellular matrix and its scaffold-free nature. This review will first introduce several widely used cell sheet preparation systems, including traditional approaches and recent improvements, as well as their advantages and shortcomings. Recent advances in utilising cell sheet technology to regenerate bone or cartilage defects and bone-cartilage complex defects will be reviewed. The key challenges and future research directions for the application of cell sheet technology in bone and cartilage regeneration will also be discussed.
Bone Regeneration ; Bone and Bones ; Cartilage, Articular ; Regeneration ; Tissue Engineering ; trends ; Tissue Scaffolds

Tooth enamel is a complex mineralized tissue consisting of long and parallel apatite crystals configured into decussating enamel rods. In recent years, multiple approaches have been introduced to generate or regenerate this highly attractive biomaterial characterized by great mechanical strength paired with relative resilience and tissue compatibility. In the present review, we discuss five pathways toward enamel tissue engineering, (i) enamel synthesis using physico-chemical means, (ii) protein matrix-guided enamel crystal growth, (iii) enamel surface remineralization, (iv) cell-based enamel engineering, and (v) biological enamel regeneration based on de novo induction of tooth morphogenesis. So far, physical synthesis approaches using extreme environmental conditions such as pH, heat and pressure have resulted in the formation of enamel-like crystal assemblies. Biochemical methods relying on enamel proteins as templating matrices have aided the growth of elongated calcium phosphate crystals. To illustrate the validity of this biochemical approach we have successfully grown enamel-like apatite crystals organized into decussating enamel rods using an organic enamel protein matrix. Other studies reviewed here have employed amelogenin-derived peptides or self-assembling dendrimers to re-mineralize mineral-depleted white lesions on tooth surfaces. So far, cell-based enamel tissue engineering has been hampered by the limitations of presently existing ameloblast cell lines. Going forward, these limitations may be overcome by new cell culture technologies. Finally, whole-tooth regeneration through reactivation of the signaling pathways triggered during natural enamel development represents a biological avenue toward faithful enamel regeneration. In the present review we have summarized the state of the art in enamel tissue engineering and provided novel insights into future opportunities to regenerate this arguably most fascinating of all dental tissues.
Acid Etching, Dental ; Amelogenin ; Biomimetics ; trends ; Dental Enamel ; metabolism ; Dental Enamel Proteins ; Dentistry ; trends ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tooth Remineralization

The sufficiency of hard and soft tissue at the implant site is the guarantee of long-term function, health and the appearance of implant denture. Problem of soft tissue recession at the implant site has always been bothering dentists. Traditional methods for augmentation of soft tissue such as gingival transplantation have disadvantages of instability of the increased soft-tissue and more trauma. Lately the methods that base on tissue engineering to increase the soft tissue of peri-implant sites have drawn great attention. This review focuses on the current methods of peri-implant restoration through tissue engineering, seed cells, biological scaffolds and cytokines.
Dental Implants ; Dental Research ; trends ; Gingiva ; Gingival Recession ; therapy ; Humans ; Tissue Engineering ; methods

Bone is a unique organ composed of mineralized hard tissue, unlike any other body part. The unique manner in which bone can constantly undergo self-remodeling has created interesting clinical approaches to the healing of damaged bone. Healing of large bone defects is achieved using implant materials that gradually integrate with the body after healing is completed. Such strategies require a multidisciplinary approach by material scientists, biological scientists, and clinicians. Development of materials for bone healing and exploration of the interactions thereof with the body are active research areas. In this review, we explore ongoing developments in the creation of materials for regenerating hard tissues.
Animals ; Bone Regeneration/*drug effects ; Bone Substitutes/*therapeutic use ; Bone and Bones/*drug effects/pathology/physiopathology ; Ceramics/therapeutic use ; Diffusion of Innovation ; Fracture Healing/drug effects ; Humans ; Hydrogels ; Polymers/therapeutic use ; Regenerative Medicine/*trends ; Tissue Engineering/*trends ; Treatment Outcome

Prefabricated flap is so named as the skin flaps is prepared by prefabricating a circulation-rich skin flap by implanting a named blood vessel or a portion of fascia which is incorporated with rich blood supply. After the flap has been proven as a flap supplied by ample blood supply, it is transplanted to a wound as a local or free transplantation. The core of prefabricated flap is vascularization. Beside the different methods of prefabrication, vascularization can be facilitated by use of growth factors and cytokines, skin and soft tissue expansion technique, and biomaterial. Prefabricated flap is currently widely used in clinic. With the advances in the research of prefabrication technology and advances in its clinical application, prefabricated flap transplantation is becoming a promising strategy in wound healing.
Biomedical Research ; trends ; Humans ; Skin ; Skin Transplantation ; trends ; Surgical Flaps ; Tissue Engineering ; methods

Application research on human amniotic membrane has been carried out for nearly a hundred years and people found that there were more than dozens of kinds bioactive substances in the amniotic membrane. It has been proved that the amniotic membrane has a lot of functions, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-virus, anti-angiogenic and promoting cell apoptosis, and soon. As effective treatments, amniotic membrane has been used for adjunctive therapy of burns, trauma, ophthalmic damage, dermatopathya. Recent advances of amniotic membrane and amniotic membrane-derived cells research have led to enormous progress in skin tissue engineering, vascular tis- sue engineering, biological scaffold material, and biological sustained-release materials. Amniotic membrane and amniotic membrane derived cells have a significant advantage and unique charm in medical field. Therefore, they have higher research value and broad prospects in the applications.
Amnion ; Biomedical Research ; trends ; Humans ; Tissue Engineering ; Treatment Outcome

Research in the field of tissue regeneration is a new focus in life science and medicine in the 21st century, hereby I express my personal expectations of its research and translational application in the future.
Regenerative Medicine ; trends ; Tissue Engineering ; Wound Healing