Title:Potential Replication of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Craniofacial Reconstruction
Volume: 9
Issue: 3
Author(s): Yao Fu, Shuwen Deng, Jing Wang, Zhaozhao Chen, Shu Zhang, Songtao Wu, Yan Jiang, Ling Ye, Qiang Peng and Yunfeng Lin
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Cell differentiation, craniofacial reconstruction, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, regenerative
medicine, somatic cells.
Abstract: The craniofacial region contains many specified tissues, including bone, cartilage, muscle, blood vessels, fat,
skin and neurons. A defect or dysfunction of the craniofacial tissue after post-cancer ablative surgery, trauma, congenital
malformations and progressive deforming skeletal diseases has a huge influence on the patient’s life. Therefore, functional
reconstruction of damaged tissues is highly sought. The use of cell-based therapies represents one of the most advanced
methods for enhancing the regenerative response for craniofacial wound-healing. The recently acquired ability to reprogram
human adult somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in culture may provide a powerful tool for in vitro
disease modeling and an unlimited source for cell replacement therapy. This review focuses on the generation, biological
characterization and discussion of the potential application of iPSCs for craniofacial tissue-engineering applications.
