A new age of regenerative medicine: Fusion of tissue engineering and stem cell research

摘要

After the biotech medicine era, symbolized by the progress of genetic engineering and the developments of physiologically active substances such as proteins and cytokines as medicine, the regenerative medicine era, when cells and tissues become medicine, is going to start and getting popular in recent years in the world. In particular, regenerative medicine is highly expected as curative-therapeutic treatments that can cure patients with obstinate diseases and physically impaired function, while the conventional symptomatic treatments are unable to do so. For supporting and enhancing the progress of regenerative medicine, remarkable advancements in regenerative medical sciences, and cell and tissue engineering are desired worldwide. Furthermore, to achieve new treatments based on regenerative medicine, multidis-ciplinary approaches from various fields such as molecular biology, cell biology, science and engineering, and pharmaceutical and medical sciences are essential.