Hydrogel Encapsulation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Derived Exosomes for Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Tissue engineering has been an inveterate area in the field of regenerative medicine for several decades. However, there remains limitations to engineer and regenerate tissues. Targeted therapies using cell-encapsulated hydrogels, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are capable of reducing inflammation and increasing the regenerative potential in several tissues. In addition, the use of MSC-derived nano-scale secretions (i.e., exosomes) has been promising. Exosomes originate from the multivesicular division of cells and have high therapeutic potential, yet neither self-replicate nor cause auto-immune reactions to the host. To maintain their biological activity and allow a controlled release, these paracrine factors can be encapsulated in biomaterials. Among the different types of biomaterials in which exosome infusion is exploited, hydrogels have proven to be the most user-friendly, economical, and accessible material. In this paper, we highlight the importance of MSCs and MSC-derived exosomes in tissue engineering and the different biomaterial strategies used in fabricating exosome-based biomaterials, to facilitate hard and soft tissue engineering.

Gelatin-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Kluyveromyces lactis Encapsulation: Potential Applications in Probiotics and Bioreactor Packings

“…Encapsulation of bioactive compounds or whole cells for oral administration has been achieved with the aid of several materials, including collagen, gelatin, alginate, chitosan, gum Arabic, maltodextrin, starch, sodium caseinate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, and polyacrylic acid [15][16][17][18][19]. Polymeric materials, particularly hydrogels, have been described as the preferred choice due to characteristics such as hydrophilic porous matrix, flexibility, high biocompatibility and biodegradability, prolonged consistency, userfriendliness, low cost, and ease of access [20][21][22]. To aid in finding its optimal parameters, there have been several experimental and in silico studies that confirm a strong dependency on solubility, high degree of functional design space, surface multivalency, facile chemical modification, high stability, and ease of integration with other materials such as lipids and nanoparticles [23][24][25][26].…”

Gene and Cell Therapy in Dental Tissue Regeneration

“…Studies are currently underway to investigate ways of improving and optimizing the microenvironment where transplanted cells are going to reside. These studies have used either pharmacological or epigenetic techniques [84], or cell-free (extracellular vesicle-based) applications [85] to enhance the resistance of exogenous MSCs.…”

Small extracellular vesicles from menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MenSCs) as a novel therapeutic impetus in regenerative medicine

“…The use of chemical materials with biological functions may be an interesting candidate to transfer MSC-derived small EVs [221]. Biomaterials can provide matrix interaction, enhancing the transmission effect of MSC-derived small EVs and affect secretion characteristics through signal transmission from outside to inside.…”