Edited by Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
An article collection in Stem Cell Research & Therapy.
This series covers biophysical regulation of stem cell fate and function in the context of tissue development.
This collection of articles has not been sponsored and articles have undergone the journal’s standard peer-review process. The Guest Editor and Editors declare no competing interests.
View all collections published in Stem Cell Research & Therapy
The heart is a continuously pumping organ with an average lifespan of eight decades. It develops from the onset of embryonic cardiogenesis under biomechanical load, performs optimally within a defined range of...
Bones adapt to accommodate the physical forces they experience through changes in architecture and mass. Stem cells differentiate into bone-forming osteoblasts, and mechanical stimulation is involved in this p...
Advances in the fields of stem cell biology, biomaterials, and tissue engineering over the last decades have brought the possibility of constructing tissue substitutes with a broad range of applications in reg...
Obesity, which is excessive expansion of white adipose tissue, is a major risk factor for several serious health issues, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Efforts to combat obesity and rel...
Mechanical factors play a crucial role in the development of articular cartilage in vivo. In this regard, tissue engineers have sought to leverage native mechanotransduction pathways to enhance in vitro stem cell...
Invariant left-right (LR) patterning or chirality is critical for embryonic development. The loss or reversal of LR asymmetry is often associated with malformations and disease. Although several theories have ...
Tissue engineering has developed many paradigms and techniques on how to best integrate cells and extracellular matrix to create in vitro structures that replicate native tissue. The strategy best suited for buil...
Bone is a load-bearing tissue and physical forces play key roles in the development and maintenance of its structure. Mechanical cues can stimulate the expression of an osteogenic phenotype, enhance matrix and...
The ability to understand and regulate human vasculature development and differentiation has the potential to benefit patients suffering from a variety of ailments, including cardiovascular disease, peripheral...
Stem cells reside within most tissues throughout the lifetimes of mammalian organisms. To maintain their capacities for division and differentiation and thereby build, maintain, and regenerate organ structure ...
Controlled expansion and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) using reproducible, high-throughput methods could accelerate stem cell research for clinical therapies. Hydrodynamic culture systems fo...
The assembly of cells into tissues is a complex process controlled by numerous signaling pathways to ensure the fidelity of the final structure. Tissue assembly is also very dynamic, as exemplified by the form...
Stem cells interact with biochemical and biophysical signals in their extracellular environment. The biophysical signals are transduced to the stem cells either through the underlying extracellular matrix or e...