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Review
. 2019 May:203:96-110.
doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.06.026. Epub 2018 Jun 22.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: Aging and tissue engineering applications to enhance bone healing

Hang Lin  1 , Jihee Sohn  2 , He Shen  3 , Mark T Langhans  2 , Rocky S Tuan  4
Affiliations
Review

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: Aging and tissue engineering applications to enhance bone healing

Hang Lin et al. Biomaterials. 2019 May.

Abstract

Bone has well documented natural healing capacity that normally is sufficient to repair fractures and other common injuries. However, the properties of bone change throughout life, and aging is accompanied by increased incidence of bone diseases and compromised fracture healing capacity, which necessitate effective therapies capable of enhancing bone regeneration. The therapeutic potential of adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for bone repair has been long proposed and examined. Actions of MSCs may include direct differentiation to become bone cells, attraction and recruitment of other cells, or creation of a regenerative environment via production of trophic growth factors. With systemic aging, MSCs also undergo functional decline, which has been well investigated in a number of recent studies. In this review, we first describe the changes in MSCs during aging and discuss how these alterations can affect bone regeneration. We next review current research findings on bone tissue engineering, which is considered a promising and viable therapeutic solution for structural and functional restoration of bone. In particular, the importance of MSCs and bioscaffolds is highlighted. Finally, potential approaches for the prevention of MSC aging and the rejuvenation of aged MSC are discussed.

Keywords: Aging; Bone healing; MSC; Rejuvenation; Stem cell niche.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Major changes during cell aging. Compared to young cells, old cells display reduced autophagy, proteostasis, and altered mitochondrial function. The proliferation capacity also declines with aging, due to the increase of P16 and P21 level. In addition, old cells produced SASP factors, which cause adverse effect on other cells.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
MSC Niche in bone marrow. In quiescent state, MSCs reside in a homeostatic microenvironment, which contains different cells, soluble factors and extracellular matrix.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Application of engineered scaffolds to augment MSC-based bone repair.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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