The Role of Electrospun Fiber Scaffolds in Stem Cell Therapy for Skin Tissue Regeneration

Abstract

Stem cell therapy has emerged as one of the topics in tissue engineering where undifferentiated and multipotent cells are strategically placed/ injected in tissue structure for cell regeneration. Over the years, stem cells have shown promising results in skin repairs for non-healing and/or chronic wounds. The addition of the stem cells around the wound site promotes signaling pathways for growth factors that regulate tissue reconstruction. However, injecting stem cells around the wound site has its drawbacks, including cell death due to lack of microenvironment cues. This particular issue is resolved when biomaterial scaffolds are involved in the cultivation and mechanical support of the stem cells. In this review, we describe the current models of stem cell therapy by injections and those that are done through cell cultures using electrospun fiber scaffolds. Electrospun fibers are considered as an ideal candidate for cell cultures due to their surface properties. Through the control of fiber morphology and fiber structure, cells are able to proliferate and differentiate into keratinocytes for skin tissue regeneration. Furthermore, we provide another perspective of using electrospun fibers and stem cells in a layer-by-layer structure for skin substitutes (dressing). Finally, electrospun fibers have the potential to incorporate bioactive agents to achieve controlled release properties, which is beneficial to the survival of the delivered stem cells or the recruitment of the cells. Overall, our work illustrates that electrospun fibers are ideal for stem cell cultures while serving as cell carriers for wound dressing materials.

Applications of Biomaterials in 3D Cell Culture and Contributions of 3D Cell Culture to Drug Development and Basic Biomedical Research

“…Various studies have been conducted to prove the convenience of direct transplantation, improved graft adherence, and increased cellular loading densities through 3D cell culture [ 207 ]. Studies have reported hydrogel encapsulation in 3D cell culture for regeneration of cartilage, bone, liver, cardiac, cortical, brain, and skin tissues [ 208 , 209 , 210 , 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 ]. This method facilitates cell growth, differentiation and migration of many cell types, such as neural stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, adipose-derived stem cells, and PSCs.…”

Electrospun hybrid nanofibers: Fabrication, characterization, and biomedical applications

“…Where skin autografting is not possible, allografts or porcine xenografts are used, which are highly likely to reject the graft. Dermal cell or stem cell transplantation via electrospun dressings is a promising strategy for treating severe wounds ( Gizaw et al, 2019 ; Behere and Ingavle, 2022 ). Different synthetic and natural polymers can be used to fabricate nanofiber-based scaffolds for skin tissue regeneration.…”

Electrospun Nanofibers as Carriers of Microorganisms, Stem Cells, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids in Therapeutic and Other Applications

“…Cyanobacteria and fungus are also incorporated and they have therapeutic, agricultural and environmental properties. Nanofibers have been used as scaffolds for stem-cell delivery, mainly for tissue engineering and wound healing (Shabani et al, 2009;Gizaw et al, 2019). Nanofibers with viruses have mainly been used for gene delivery, while bacteriophages and oncolytic viruses have been applied against some pathogenic bacteria and cancers respectively (Lee et al, 2011;Nogueira et al, 2017).…”