Examining the Characteristics and Applications of Mesenchymal, Induced Pluripotent, and Embryonic Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering Approaches across the Germ Layers

Abstract

The field of regenerative medicine utilizes a wide array of technologies and techniques for repairing and restoring function to damaged tissues. Among these, stem cells offer one of the most potent and promising biological tools to facilitate such goals. Implementation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) offer varying advantages based on availability and efficacy in the target tissue. The focus of this review is to discuss characteristics of these three subset stem cell populations and examine their utility in tissue engineering. In particular, the development of therapeutics that utilize cell-based approaches, divided by germinal layer to further assess research targeting specific tissues of the mesoderm, ectoderm, and endoderm. The combinatorial application of MSCs, iPSCs, and ESCs with natural and synthetic scaffold technologies can enhance the reparative capacity and survival of implanted cells. Continued efforts to generate more standardized approaches for these cells may provide improved study-to-study variations on implementation, thereby increasing the clinical translatability of cell-based therapeutics. Coupling clinically translatable research with commercially oriented methods offers the potential to drastically advance medical treatments for multiple diseases and injuries, improving the quality of life for many individuals.

The Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Articular Cartilage Regeneration and Disease Modelling: Are We Ready for Their Clinical Use?

“…Both mesenchymal and induced pluripotent stem cells have promising prospects in disease modelling, tissue engineering, and personalised therapy. Recent reports suggest using MSC in treating diseases such as spinal cord injury, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type 1 diabetes, burns, strokes, and arthritis [90]. By contrast, iPSCs are among the most promising tools for developing regenerative medicine and are most often reprogrammed from fibroblast cultures, cord blood cells, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells [91].…”

“…This may provide a greater reparative capacity and survival of the cells. Progress in this field is promising for both regenerative medicine and tissue engineering [90]. Due to foetal-like origins, the derivation of progenitors from iPSC could also rejuvenate them, enabling improved adaptation to the pathologically changed diseased area.…”

Stem Cell–Based Therapies: What Interventional Radiologists Need to Know

“…20,24 Although extensive attempts have been made to use the pluripotent capability of ESCs for disease modeling and developing novel therapeutics, considerable challenges still exist in clinical applications. 25 First, as the use of human ESCs has been expanding in recent years, the application of ESCs in clinical studies raises serious ethical concerns. Currently, policies, patent laws, and guidelines related to ESCs vary significantly between countries.…”

Mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes as a promising new approach for the treatment of infertility caused by polycystic ovary syndrome

“…Growing evidence from a various experimental and clinical trials support the effectiveness of MSCs on treating different diseases such as renal fibrosis, cardiovascular disorders, neurological diseases and female reproductive disorders ( Du and Taylor, 2009 ; Goradel et al, 2018 ; Liang et al, 2018 ; Liu et al, 2018 ; Sneddon et al, 2018 ); these cells can be harvested from the varieties of tissues including bone marrow, umbilical cord, adipose tissue, placental tissue, menstrual blood and dental pulp ( Priester et al, 2020 ).…”