Advances in the use of stem cells and tissue engineering applications in bone repair

Tissue engineering of bone has the potential to overcome the limitations of using autologous, allogeneic or synthetic bone grafts to treat extensive bone defects. It involves culturing of osteogenic cells within appropriate scaffold materials under conditions that optimize bone development. Stem cells, progenitor cells, terminally differentiated cells or genetically modified cells may be used. Scaffold materials include polymers, ceramics or composites which are used to maintain the desirable characteristics of the individual materials. Preclinical and clinical studies on the use of growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins to increase bone formation have had promising results. This review discusses the approaches to and the challenges associated with producing tissue engineered bone.