Adipose and mammary epithelial tissueengineering

摘要

Breast reconstruction is a type of surgery for women whohave had a mastectomy, and involves using autologous tissueor prosthetic material to construct a natural-looking breast.Adipose tissue is the major contributor to the volume of thebreast, whereas epithelial cells comprise the functional unitof the mammary gland. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs)can differentiate into both adipocytes and epithelial cellsand can be acquired from autologous sources. ASCs aretherefore an attractive candidate for clinical applications torepair or regenerate the breast. Here we review the currentstate of adipose tissue engineering methods, including thebiomaterials used for adipose tissue engineering and theapplication of these techniques for mammary epithelialtissue engineering. Adipose tissue engineering combinedwith microfabrication approaches to engineer the epitheliumrepresents a promising avenue to replicate the native structureof the breast.