Tissue Engineering Through Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Role of the Genostem Consortium

Abstract

The incidence of skeletal tissue diseases is increasing in the Western world, largely as a result of the demographic shift toward a more aged population. Regeneration of damaged tendon, bone or cartilage is therefore a major goal for the future, and cell and/or gene therapy offers great promise in this respect. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the progenitors of multiple cell lineages, including bone, cartilage, muscle, adipose tissue and astrocytes [1]. MSCs also seem to be the best candidates for use in cell therapy for tissue regeneration because they are easily isolated from bone marrow (BM) or adipose tissue and can be rapidly amplified [2]. However, complete healing is extremely difficult to achieve and involves integration of the regenerated tissue within the surrounding host tissue and true differentiation through pathways involved in embryonic development. This goal may be achieved through the combination of innovative scaffolds, MSC-mediated therapy and expression of selective differentiating factors identified through genomic analysis. Furthermore, the long-term behavior of MSCs associated with biomaterials and implanted in affected tissue must be investigated and understood before use in clinical applications such as bone defect, tendon rupture, osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This overview highlights the range of research devoted to this topic underway within the different centers across Europe that comprise the Genostem European Union Project.