A Tissue Regeneration Approach to Bone and Cartilage Repair

Book excerpt: Reviewing exhaustively the current state of the art of tissue engineering strategies for regenerating bones and joints through the use of biomaterials, growth factors and stem cells, along with an investigation of the interactions between biomaterials, bone cells, growth factors and added stem cells and how together skeletal tissues can be optimised, this book serves to highlight the importance of biomaterials composition, surface topography, architectural and mechanical properties in providing support for tissue regeneration. Maximizing reader insights into the importance of the interplay of these attributes with bone cells (osteoblasts, osteocytes and osteoclasts) and cartilage cells (chondrocytes), this book also provides a detailed reference as to how key signalling pathways are activated. The contribution of growth factors to drive tissue regeneration and stem cell recruitment is discussed along with a review the potential and challenges of adult or embryonic mesenchymal stem cells to further enhance the formation of new bone and cartilage tissues. This book serves to demonstrate the interconnectedness of biomaterials, bone/cartilage cells, growth factors and stem cells in determining the regenerative process and thus the clinical outcome.