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Review
. 2018 Mar 1;22(3):302-305.
doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.02.001.

Understanding the Extracellular Matrix to Enhance Stem Cell-Based Tissue Regeneration

Laura E Niklason  1
Affiliations
Review

Understanding the Extracellular Matrix to Enhance Stem Cell-Based Tissue Regeneration

Laura E Niklason. Cell Stem Cell. .

Abstract

The extracellular matrix is a biologically critical entity that has historically been poorly understood. Here we discuss how new tools for characterizing matrix composition and function enable us to design and deliver advanced matrices in vitro, to optimize regeneration, and in vivo, within a variety of tissues and organs.

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Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

L.E.N. is a founder and shareholder in Humacyte, Inc., which is a regenerative medicine company. Humacyte produces engineered blood vessels from allogeneic smooth muscle cells for vascular surgery. L.E.N.’s spouse has equity in Humacyte, and L.E.N. serves on Humacyte’s Board of Directors. L.E.N. is an inventor on patents that are licensed to Humacyte and produce royalties for L.E.N.; patent numbers and associated patents include the following: 19,657,265, Tubular tissue-engineered constructs; 29,650,603, Tissue-engineered constructs; 39,556,414, Tissue-engineered constructs; 49,127,242, Tissue and organ graft bioreactor and method of operation; 58,198,245, Compositions and methods for soft tissue augmentation; 67,993,567, Method and system for aligning fibers during electrospinning; 77,943,378, Tissue engineering; 87,498,332, Therapy for cerebral vasospasm; 96,962,814, Decellularized tissue engineered constructs and tissues; and 106,537,567, Tissue-engineered tubular construct having circumferentially oriented smooth muscle cells. L.E.N. has received an unrestricted research gift to support research in her laboratory at Yale. Humacyte did not fund these studies, and Humacyte did not influence the conduct, description, or interpretation of the findings in this report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Acellular Organ Matrix Maintains Structure and Drives Cell Adhesion
(A) Acellular matrix from adult rat lung shows alveolar barrier integrity, with retention of yellow micro-particles that are injected into the airway. (B) Mixed neonatal rat pulmonary epithelium that is seeded onto an acellular lung scaffold organizes to form airway structures containing cells expressing clara cell secretary protein (green) as well as keratin5, a basal cell marker (red).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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