Re-engineering Developmental Processes for Cartilage and Bone Regeneration
Event details
| Date | 25.03.2019 |
| Hour | 12:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Ivan Martin, University Hospital Basel (CH) |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
WEEKLY BIOENGINEERING COLLOQUIA SERIES
(sandwiches served)
Abstract:
Biological processes leading to tissue formation during embryonic development are characterized by a large stability and reproducibility of events, typically referred to as ‘robustness’. Would regenerative medicine approaches be more repeatable and effective if they targeted the recapitulation of molecular pathways typical of tissue development? Within the exemplifying context of cartilage and bone repair, this lecture will introduce and discuss the challenges and opportunities of regenerative concepts based on mimicking developmental processes. Rather than engineering a tissue, the strategy would target the use of cells (e.g., mesenchymal stromal cells) to engineer temporally staged processes, recapitulating events of development (e.g., endochondral ossification for bone or joint cavitation for articular cartilage). The product would be a construct containing the necessary and sufficient cues to autonomously remodel into the target repair tissue upon grafting.
In this perspective, however, cells in adults may strongly differ from multipotent embryonic cells, and typically reside in an environment, which is tightly regulated by post-natal mechanical conditioning or immune/inflammatory processes. Thus, shouldn’t tissue regeneration strategies be inspired by development but adapted to be effective in a context, which is different from the embryo? This would require to re-design the developmental machinery for regenerative purposes by establishing artificial events or conditions. Will the resulting approach of ‘developmental re-engineering’ offer a chance for enhanced regeneration to those tissues with limited capacity to recover from injuries or within pathological settings reducing the potential for endogenous repair?
Zoom link for attending remotely: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/133566960
(sandwiches served)
Abstract:
Biological processes leading to tissue formation during embryonic development are characterized by a large stability and reproducibility of events, typically referred to as ‘robustness’. Would regenerative medicine approaches be more repeatable and effective if they targeted the recapitulation of molecular pathways typical of tissue development? Within the exemplifying context of cartilage and bone repair, this lecture will introduce and discuss the challenges and opportunities of regenerative concepts based on mimicking developmental processes. Rather than engineering a tissue, the strategy would target the use of cells (e.g., mesenchymal stromal cells) to engineer temporally staged processes, recapitulating events of development (e.g., endochondral ossification for bone or joint cavitation for articular cartilage). The product would be a construct containing the necessary and sufficient cues to autonomously remodel into the target repair tissue upon grafting.
In this perspective, however, cells in adults may strongly differ from multipotent embryonic cells, and typically reside in an environment, which is tightly regulated by post-natal mechanical conditioning or immune/inflammatory processes. Thus, shouldn’t tissue regeneration strategies be inspired by development but adapted to be effective in a context, which is different from the embryo? This would require to re-design the developmental machinery for regenerative purposes by establishing artificial events or conditions. Will the resulting approach of ‘developmental re-engineering’ offer a chance for enhanced regeneration to those tissues with limited capacity to recover from injuries or within pathological settings reducing the potential for endogenous repair?
Zoom link for attending remotely: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/133566960
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
Contact
- Institute of Bioengineering (IBI), Christina Mattsson