The Use of Adipose Tissue-Derived Progenitors in Bone Tissue Engineering - a Review

2500 years ago, Hippocrates realized that bone can heal without scaring. The natural healing potential of bone is, however, restricted to small defects. Extended bone defects caused by trauma or during tumor resections still pose a huge problem in orthopedics and cranio-maxillofacial surgery. Bone tissue engineering strategies using stem cells, growth factors, and scaffolds could overcome the problems with the treatment of extended bone defects. In this review, we give a short overview on bone tissue engineering with emphasis on the use of adipose tissue-derived stem cells and small molecules.