Strategies for cell engineering in tissue repair

Cellular and tissue engineering are new areas of research, currently attracting considerable interest because of the remarkable potential they have for clinical application. Some claims have indeed been dramatic, including the possibility of growing complete, artificial organs, such as the liver. However, amid such long-term aspirations there is the very real possibility that small tissues (artificial grafts) may be fabricated in the near future for use in reconstructive surgery. Logically, we should focus on how it is possible to produce modest, engineered tissues for tissue repair. It is evident that strategies to date either depend on innate information within implanted cells, to reform the target tissue or aim to provide appropriate environmental cues or guidance to direct cell behavior. It is argued here that present knowledge of tissue repair biology points us toward the latter approach, providing external cues which will direct how cells should organize the new tissue. This will be particularly true where we need to reproduce microscopic and ultrastructural features of the original tissue architecture. A number of such cues have been identified, and methods are already available, including substrate chemistry, substrate contact guidance, mechanical loading, and biochemical mediators to provide these cues. Examples of these are already being used with some success to control the formation of tissue structures.