editorial bone tissue engineering for dentistry and ... · editorial bone tissue engineering for...

EditorialBone Tissue Engineering for Dentistry and Orthopaedics

Yin Xiao1,2

1 Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove,Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia

2 Australia-China Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (ACCTERM), Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia

Correspondence should be addressed to Yin Xiao; [email protected]

Received 5 November 2014; Accepted 5 November 2014; Published 26 November 2014

Copyright © 2014 Yin Xiao. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, whichpermits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Bone has a strong capacity for self-repair; however, condi-tions such as complex trauma, tumor, infection, and con-genital disorders, which can cause large bone defects andresorption, often result in devastating deficits of dental andskeletal tissues. Clinically, this can lead to nonunion of boneand the loss of functional support to surrounding tissues,with the consequence of significant impact on the qualityof life of patients.This is a challenging situation that typicallyrequires bone grafting and complicated and expensive treat-ment strategies.

Currently the gold standard material for bone defectrepair is autografts; however, donor site morbidity and lim-ited supply prevent the wide application of this method. Allo-grafts and xenografts can address the supply issue but faceissues such as immune rejection and potential transmissionof infectious diseases. In view of the limitations inherent withconventional bone graft strategies, tissue engineering repre-sents a promising approach for bone repair and regeneration.Advances in tissue engineering have led to innovative scaffolddesigns, complemented by progress in the understanding ofcell-based therapies and bioactive growth factor delivery.

Bone tissue engineering strategies have demonstratedthat there is great potential to address the ever-pressing clin-ical need and have attracted attention from scientists, engi-neers, and clinicians worldwide over the past 25 years.This isreflected by the increasing interest shown by our readershipand authors in this promising field and we are, therefore,pleased to present this special issue. In this issue, we havecompiled fourteen exciting papers, including research articlesand reviews that reflect the diversity of this fascinating subject

and provide a better understanding of recent advances in thefield of bone tissue engineering.

The fundamental concept of bone tissue engineering isto combine progenitor cells or osteogenically differentiated/mature cells (for osteogenesis) seeded onto biocompatiblescaffolds and ideally in three-dimensional structures (forosteoconduction and vascular ingrowth), with appropriategrowth factors (for osteoinduction) to generate functionalbone structures. Effective cell-based therapies for bone tissueengineering typically employ the coordinated manipulationof cells and biologically active signaling molecules. Y. Wuet al. have demonstrated the potential use of temporo-mandibular joint derived synovial stem cells (TMJ-SDSCs) inTMJ disc repair and regeneration. Y. Zhou et al. report thata hypoxic microenvironment can maintain cell proliferationcapacity, enhance pluripotency, and promote differentiation,indicating that effective cell isolation and expansion underhypoxic conditions may be a viable technique for autologouscell-based therapies. S. Tuan et al. present a review on thefunctional regulation of osteoblast lineage cells in healthand osteoporosis, with an emphasis on the application ofstrontium and its role in regulating bone remodeling via itsinvolvement in a number of pathways. B. Chen et al. havefocused on the role of nuclear factor-𝜅B ligand (RANKL)in periodontal bone resorption and explored the factorsinvolved in the regulation of the RANKL expression. Q.Zhang et al. provide an overview of the role of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in bone loss diseases and discuss the possibilityof IL-10 adoption in the treatment of bone-related diseases,whereasK. Luo et al. show evidence that suggests that changes

Hindawi Publishing CorporationBioMed Research InternationalVolume 2014, Article ID 241067, 2 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/241067

http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/241067

2 BioMed Research International

of the expression of cytokines and bone turnover markersin periodontium of ovariectomized rats can contribute to thedamage of periodontal tissues.

Optimizing and refining the use of scaffolds is anotherimportant aspect for bone tissue engineering. Taking theircues from the extracellular matrix, C. Rentsch et al. havedeveloped embroidered polycaprolactone-co-lactide (PCL)scaffolds that are coated with collagen/chondroitin sul-phate and which can enhance de novo bone forma-tion and be used as skull bone implants for large invivo defects. M. Shi et al. have constructed multifunc-tional nanosized mesoporous bioactive glass/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) composite-coated CaSiO

3scaffolds that

have improved mechanical strength, apatite-mineralizationactivity, cytocompatibility, and drug-delivery properties andwhich have promising applications in bone tissue engineer-ing. G. Wu et al. have shown that the drug loading efficiencyand release profile of bioactive scaffolds can be adjustedby changing the internal phase of the microparticles. Thisprovides better understanding when fabricating multipur-pose in situ drug releasing scaffolds for future clinical appli-cations. X. Yu et al. report that the cellular responses tobiomimetic calcium phosphate coatings are inferior to analkaline-treated titanium surface, highlighting that substratesurface properties directly influence cell adhesion ondifferentbiomaterials.

With a firm focus on maintaining biomechanical proper-ties, Z. Zhou et al. report that injection of hydrogel into theintervertebral discs can greatly restore the shock absorptionof this tissue, suggesting that hydrogel injections may be apromising clinical approach to manage intervertebral discdegeneration. B. Lohberger et al. have evaluated the effectsof cyclic tensile strain on the cell differentiation towards anosteogenic lineage, thereby contributing to a better under-standing of strain-induced bone remodeling. E. Chung et al.further demonstrate that the combination of tensile andthermal stress conditioning over a short period has thepotential to modify cellular performance and thus syner-gistically promotes bone regeneration. In order to providescientific and empirical evidence for the clinical applicationof the polyaxial self-locking anatomical plate, W. Liang et al.have gathered geometrical data on the distal tibias andmanufactured a variable locking screw trajectory to improvescrew-plate stability through the design of a polyaxial self-locking anatomical plate.

Bone tissue engineering has become increasingly depen-dent on the emergence of innovations from all of these fields,even as they have continued to evolve independently. Bygathering these papers in this issue, we seek to incorporatethe diverse areas of research in order to reflect current trends.It is our hope that this will enrich our readers and the widerange of researchers in the field of bone tissue engineering forthe application in orthopaedics and dentistry.

Yin Xiao

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