Artificial scaffolds and mesenchymal stem cells for hard tissues

Abstract

Medicine was revolutionized in the last two centuries and its advances have more than doubled life expectancy. Nevertheless, some problems are as old as mankind and although the underlying causes might have changed, the problems themselves have not. Musculoskeletal disorders and tooth loss are such problems; they are the major reasons for the ever-growing need for bone replacement, which cannot always be realized by autologous material. New, multidisciplinary strategies are needed for the development of novel materials to meet the demand. Stem-cell-based approaches combined with newly designed scaffold materials seem to be promising tools for constructing tissue replacements. Human mesenchymal stem cells and their remarkable differentiation potential are an interesting cell source for the development of bio-engineered tissues. Scaffolds based on natural and synthetic materials with or without the use of bioactive molecules are constructed to mimic the natural environment. They can improve proliferation and differentiation of the scaffold-seeded cells. Combined, they can provide specific remedies for hard tissue replacement, which will be discussed in this chapter.