Tissue Engineering Using Laminar Cellular Assemblies

As proposed in the late 1980s by Langer and Vacanti, the ultimate goal of tissue engineering is the development of structures that can be used to treat or replace damaged or diseased organs and tissues. For the regeneration of various organs such as the heart, liver, and kidney, the development of adequate vascular networks within the engineered tissues remains a significant obstacle in the formation of cell-dense structures that resemble the native parenchyma. While tissue engineering using biodegradable scaffolds has been successful in the re-creation of tissues where extracellular matrix is abundant, we have developed cell-sheet-based tissue engineering for the construction of tissues using laminar assemblies of cells harvested from temperature-responsive culture dishes. Using cell sheet engineering, we present new strategies for the development of organ-like tissue structures containing well-organized vascular networks.