Tissue regeneration. The past, the present and the future

Tissue engineering has been a topic of extensive research over the last years. The ability of human body to regenerate tissue loss such as bone, cartilage, nerves, skin and muscle is limited leading often to amputations of limbs or functional disability. The isolation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and later the embryonic stem cells in conjunction with the advances made in cellular biology, tissue engineering, genetics and recombinant technology has initiated the development of new techniques and new therapeutic strategies allowing treatment of many pathological conditions providing restoration of tissue continuity and function.