Synthetic tissue biology: Tissue engineering meets synthetic biology (original) (raw)
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Advanced Functional Materials, 2020
Tissue engineering approaches, with the goals of replacing or recovering damaged or diseased tissues, or of reconstituting tissues in vitro for disease modeling and drug development, have the potential to make significant contributions to medicine. Advances in stem cell biology, biomaterial synthesis and characterization, and microscale technologies have made engineered tissues a reality. However, the classic tools used to build tissues in the lab do not allow for complete control of cell behaviors. More recently, synthetic biology principles have developed robust and versatile approaches to program cells with artificial genetic circuits, where cell behavior and function can be manipulated. At the interface between synthetic biology and tissue engineering, there is space for a new area of investigation where material engineering and cellular engineering complement and sustain each other. In this progress report, synthetic biology principles and how they have been used to engineer cells with potential to dictate cell behavior and function in tissue constructs of the future are briefly described. It is our belief that this research area still needs further exploration to fully exploit synthetic biology to make smart and functional cellular constructs for therapeutic and in vitro applications.
Modular tissue engineering: engineering biological tissues from the bottom up
Soft Matter, 2009
Tissue engineering creates biological tissues that aim to improve the function of diseased or damaged tissues. To enhance the function of engineered tissues there is a need to generate structures that mimic the intricate architecture and complexity of native organs and tissues. With the desire to create more complex tissues with features such as developed and functional microvasculature, cell binding motifs and tissue specific morphology, tissue engineering techniques are beginning to focus on building modular microtissues with repeated functional units. The emerging field known as modular tissue engineering focuses on fabricating tissue building blocks with specific microarchitectural features and using these modular units to engineer biological tissues from the bottom up. In this review we will examine the promise and shortcomings of ''bottom-up'' approaches to creating engineered biological tissues. Specifically, we will survey the current techniques for controlling cell aggregation, proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition, as well as approaches to generating shape-controlled tissue modules. We will then highlight techniques utilized to create macroscale engineered biological tissues from modular microscale units.
Modularity in Developmental Biology and Artificial Organs: A Missing Concept in Tissue Engineering
Artificial Organs, 2011
Tissue engineering is reviving itself, adopting the concept of biomimetics of in vivo tissue development. A basic concept of developmental biology is the modularity of the tissue architecture according to which intermediates in tissue development constitute semiautonomous entities. Both engineering and nature have chosen the modular architecture to optimize the product or organism development and evolution. Bioartificial tissues do not have a modular architecture. On the contrary, artificial organs of modular architecture have been already developed in the field of artificial organs. Therefore the conceptual support of tissue engineering by the field of artificial organs becomes critical in its new endeavor of recapitulating in vitro the in vivo tissue development.
The field of tissue engineering has been growing in the recent years as more products have made it to the market and as new uses for the engineered tissues have emerged, motivating many researchers to engage in this multidisciplinary field of research. Engineered tissues are now not only considered as end products for regenerative medicine, but also have emerged as enabling technologies for other fields of research ranging from drug discovery to biorobotics. This widespread use necessitates a variety of methodologies for production of tissue engineered constructs. In this review, these methods together with their non-clinical applications will be described. First, we will focus on novel materials used in tissue engineering scaffolds; such as recombinant proteins and synthetic, self assembling polypeptides. The recent advances in the modular tissue engineering area will be discussed. Then scaffold-free production methods, based on either cell sheets or cell aggregates will be described. Cell sources used in tissue engineering and new methods that provide improved control over cell behavior such as pathway engineering and biomimetic microenvironments for directing cell differentiation will be discussed. Finally, we will summarize the emerging uses of engineered constructs such as model tissues for drug discovery, cancer research and biorobotics applications.
Developmental biology and tissue engineering
Birth Defects Research Part C-embryo Today-reviews, 2007
Morphogenesis implies the controlled spatial organization of cells that gives rise to tissues and organs in early embryonic development. While morphogenesis is under strict genetic control, the formation of specialized biological structures of specific shape hinges on physical processes. Tissue engineering (TE) aims at reproducing morphogenesis in the laboratory, i.e., in vitro, to fabricate replacement organs for regenerative medicine. The classical approach to generate tissues/organs is by seeding and expanding cells in appropriately shaped biocompatible scaffolds, in the hope that the maturation process will result in the desired structure. To accomplish this goal more naturally and efficiently, we set up and implemented a novel TE method that is based on principles of developmental biology and employs bioprinting, the automated delivery of cellular composites into a three-dimensional (3D) biocompatible environment. The novel technology relies on the concept of tissue liquidity according to which multicellular aggregates composed of adhesive and motile cells behave in analogy with liquids: in particular, they fuse. We emphasize the major role played by tissue fusion in the embryo and explain how the parameters (surface tension, viscosity) that govern tissue fusion can be used both experimentally and theoretically to control and simulate the self-assembly of cellular spheroids into 3D living structures. The experimentally observed postprinting shape evolution of tube- and sheet-like constructs is presented. Computer simulations, based on a liquid model, support the idea that tissue liquidity may provide a mechanism for in vitro organ building. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 81:320–328, 2007. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Biomimetic approach to tissue engineering
Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, 2009
The overall goal of tissue engineering is to create functional tissue grafts that can regenerate or replace our defective or worn out tissues and organs. Examples of grafts that are now in pre/clinical studies or clinical use include engineered skin, cartilage, bone, blood vessels, skeletal muscle, bladder, trachea, and myocardium. Engineered tissues are also finding applications as platforms for pharmacological and physiological studies in vitro. To fully mobilize the cell's biological potential, a new generation of tissue engineering systems is now being developed to more closely recapitulate the native developmental milieu, and mimic the physiologic mechanisms of transport and signaling. We discuss the interactions between regenerative biology and engineering, in the context of (i) creation of functional tissue grafts for regenerative medicine (where biological input is critical), and (ii) studies of stem cells, development and disease (where engineered tissues can serve as advanced 3D models).
BioMed research international, 2018
Twenty years ago, Dr. François A. Auger, the founder of the Laboratory of Experimental Organogenesis (LOEX), introduced the self-assembly technique. This innovative technique relies on the ability of dermal fibroblasts to produce and assemble their own extracellular matrix, differing from all other tissue-engineering techniques that use preformed synthetic scaffolds. Nevertheless, the use of the self-assembly technique was limited for a long time due to its main drawbacks: time and cost. Recent scientific breakthroughs have addressed these limitations. New protocol modifications that aim at increasing the rate of extracellular matrix formation have been proposed to reduce the production costs and laboratory handling time of engineered tissues. Moreover, the introduction of vascularization strategies permits the formation of capillary-like networks within reconstructed tissues. These optimization strategies enable the large-scale production of inexpensive native-like substitutes usin...
(2009) Control of organogenesis: towards effective tissue engineering
Fundamentals of Tissue Engineering …, 2009
(There is no abstract: this is the first paragraph) The word “Organogenesis” is defined as “the production and development of the organs of an animal or plant” [1]. In the context of medical research, it has traditionally been applied to the natural processes of foetal development but it is now beginning to be applied also to the creation of living organs, or organ substitutes, by artificial means. It is this latter meaning that is most relevant to this book and most of this chapter will therefore focus on artificial organogenesis. It will be helpful, though, to review the basic features of natural organogenesis first, because the most successful methods of artificial organogenesis tend to build on them.