Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

DOI

10.1186/s13036-017-0077-0

Publication Title

Journal of Biological Engineering

Volume

11

Pages

34 (11 pp.)

Abstract

The accumulated evidence points to the microenvironment as the primary mediator of cellular fate determination. Comprised of parenchymal cells, stromal cells, structural extracellular matrix proteins, and signaling molecules, the microenvironment is a complex and synergistic edifice that varies tissue to tissue. Furthermore, it has become increasingly clear that the microenvironment plays crucial roles in the establishment and progression of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, cancer, and ageing. Here we review the historical perspectives on the microenvironment, and how it has directed current explorations in tissue engineering. By thoroughly understanding the role of the microenvironment, we can begin to correctly manipulate it to prevent and cure diseases through regenerative medicine techniques.

Comments

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made

ORCID

0000-0002-0871-6789 (Sachs), 0000-0002-0621-2819 (Mollica), 0000-0003-3329-9478 (Bruno)

Original Publication Citation

Sachs, P. C., Mollica, P. A., & Bruno, R. D. (2017). Tissue specific microenvironments: A key tool for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Journal of Biological Engineering, 11, 34. doi:10.1186/s13036-017-0077-0

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