Regeneration of large bone defects is a common clinical problem. Recently, stem cell sheet has been an emerging strategy in bone tissue engineering. To enhance the osteogenic potential of stem cell sheet, we fabricated bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) gene-engineered cell sheet using a complex of polyethylenimine-alginate (PEI-al) nanocomposites plus human BMP-2 complementary(c)DNA plasmid,...

Engineering three-dimensional (3D) vascularized constructs remains a challenge due to the inability to form rich microvessel networks. In this study we engineered a prevascularized 3D cell sheet construct for tissue regeneration using human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells as cell sources. hMSCs were cultured to form a thick cell shee...

In epithelial cell movements, which occur during wound healing or embryonic morphogenesis, sheets of cells move together as a unit. Molecular mechanisms that regulate this sheet movement have been largely unknown, although cell locomotion or movement mechanisms for individual cells, such as for fibroblastic cells, have been extensively studied. Here, we show that, during wound healing, sheets o...

Cell monolayers on culture dishes were divided into two groups: tensile monolayers and non-tensile ones. In the development of an epithelium, a non-tensile cell monolayer turns into a tightly bound tensile one. Detection of these states was carried out by using the boundary shortening procedure, a computer-based geometrical method to show how much the polygonal cell boundary contracts. Non-tens...

Our previous studies have confirmed the therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) monolayer sheet transplantation on allograft repair. A limiting factor in their application is the loss of MSC multi-potency as a result of high density sheet culture-induced senescence. In the study reported in this article, we tested whether Notch activation could be used to prevent or delay sheet cultu...

AIMS Cell transplantation is a promising approach for patients with myocardial infarction. However, following injection, retention of the transplanted cells in the injected area remains a central issue, which can be deleterious to cell transplantation therapy. We hypothesized that the use of cell sheet fragments, with the preservation of extracellular matrix (ECM), may significantly increase ce...

A layered construct was developed by combining a porous polymer sheet and a cell sheet as a tissue engineered vascular patch. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the influence of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) sheet on the tensile mechanical properties of porous poly-(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) sheet. The porous PLCL sheet was fabricated by the solid-liquid phase separ...

Treatment of large bone defects using synthetic scaffolds remain a challenge mainly due to insufficient vascularization. This study is to engineer a vascularized bone graft by integrating a vascularized biomimetic cell-sheet-engineered periosteum (CSEP) and a biodegradable macroporous beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) scaffold. We first cultured human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) to form cell...

Autologous stratified squamous epithelial cell sheets have been successfully used to treat epithelial defects in tissues such as the cornea and the esophagus. However, the regenerative cellular events occurring in the grafted epithelial cells are unclear in the early stages of wound healing. In this study, we created an in vitro grafting model using cultured normal human epidermal keratinocyte ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW We will review the recent developments of cell sheet technology as a feasible tissue engineering approach. Specifically, we will focus on the technological advancement for engineering functional liver tissue using cell sheet technology, and the associated therapeutic effect of cell sheets for liver diseases, highlighting hemophilia. RECENT FINDINGS Cell-based therapies using...