Hyaluronic Acid (HA) Scaffolds and Multipotent Stromal Cells (MSCs) in Regenerative Medicine

• Published in: Stem Cell Reviews and Reports Vol. 12; no. 6; pp. 664 - 681
• Main Authors: Prè, Elena Dai, Conti, Giamaica, Sbarbati, Andrea
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biocompatible Materials - metabolism; Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Cell Biology; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Humans; Hyaluronic Acid - metabolism; Hyaluronic Acid - pharmacology; Life Sciences; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - cytology; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - drug effects; Regenerative Medicine - methods; Regenerative Medicine/Tissue Engineering; Stem Cells; Tissue Engineering - methods; Tissue Scaffolds; Hyaluronic acid; Tissue engineering; Regenerative medicine; Scaffolds; Multipotent stromal cells; Mesenchymal stem cells
• ISSN: 1550-8943; 2629-3269; 1558-6804; 2629-3277
• DOI: 10.1007/s12015-016-9684-2

Traditional methods for tissue regeneration commonly used synthetic scaffolds to regenerate human tissues. However, they had several limitations, such as foreign body reactions and short time duration. In order to overcome these problems, scaffolds made of natural polymers are preferred. One of the most suitable and widely used materials to fabricate these scaffolds is hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is the primary component of the extracellular matrix of the human connective tissue. It is an ideal material for scaffolds used in tissue regeneration, thanks to its properties of biocompatibility, ease of chemical functionalization and degradability. In the last few years, especially from 2010, scientists have seen that the cell-based engineering of these natural scaffolds allows obtaining even better results in terms of tissue regeneration and the research started to grow in this direction. Multipotent stromal cells, also known as mesenchymal stem cells, plastic-adherent cells isolated from bone marrow and other mesenchymal tissues, with self-renew and multi-potency properties are ideal candidates for this aim. Normally, they are pre-seeded onto these scaffolds before their implantation in vivo. This review discusses the use of hyaluronic acid-based scaffolds together with multipotent stromal cells, as a very promising tool in regenerative medicine.