Asia Stem Cell Center

Organ Regeneration

Stem Cell for Organ Regeneration

Organ regeneration through stem cell aims at regenerating and restoring organ function by exploiting the self-healing properties of body tissues. To achieve this, cells from different sources, growth inducing molecules, and a biomaterial-support called a scaffold are used in isolation or in combination to reconstruct organs. However, regeneration of a functional tissue or organ has so far remained a challenge. With the recent advances in adult stem cells technologies, the dream of reconstructing an entire organ or at least parts of it, seems likely to be realized soon. Moreover stem cells provide tissue engineers the freedom to choose cells at a more defined or intermediate stage of differentiation. Such advances will lead to better integration of the tissue engineered grafts in the host. Organ regeneration or re-construction is performed either in vitro in laboratories and may be made available on demand; or the regenerating factors or microenvironment can be engineered in vivo for organs to grow inside the body. Integration of stem cells and tissue engineering has resulted in tremendous progress, poised to bring a paradigm shift in regenerative medicine.