Progress in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

摘要

Fascination with the ability to regenerate tissues and organs has existed since the earliest observations of Prometheus, Thevenot, and Tremblay. However, what might be called the modern era of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine began only a quarter century ago. The initial focus of a newly defined scientific discipline referred to as "tissue engineering" involved the ex vivo creation of replacement tissues intended for subsequent in vivo implantation. Skin substitutes represented the earliest attempt at engineered tissues, and by the 1990s commercial development of these products had begun. The 1980s and 1990s were the "go-go years" of tissue engineering, but by the turn of the century commercial activity had encountered a variety of problems, including challenging regulatory hurdles and almost nonexistent third-party reimbursement mechanisms needed to sustain the commercialization effort.