1 History

Regenerative medicine is associated with engineering or regeneration of human cells, tissues, or organs and to restore or establish normal function [1]. Historically, regenerative medicine was first introduced by Kaiser in 1992, who described technologies which would impact the future of medicine [2]. Far earlier, in 1968 the first successful bone marrow transplantation in humans was performed [3]. Subsequently, this development grew and led to achieving further milestones in the fields of stem cells and transplantation.

Although regenerative medicine is considered as a novel target of medical research, the idea of creating artificial organs is not so recent. Already in 1938, Alexis Carrell, a Nobel Prize winner for his work on vascular anastomosis, and Charles Lindbergh, the first pilot who crossed the Atlantic sea alone, published the book The Culture of New Organs [4]. In 1954, the kidney was the first organ to be substituted in a human. No rejection reaction occurred due to the factor of identical twins [5].

The regenerative potential of body parts is a common phenomenon in nature; salamanders are able to restore an amputated limb in a few days. Even the human potential of regeneration was well known in ancient times, as described by the myth of the great Titan Prometheus: an eagle was eating his liver during the day and it regenerated itself completely overnight [6]. During the last centuries, regenerative medicine strove to construct artificial organs mimicking natural tissue by combining modulated cells with extracellular matrix-hybridized synthetic polymers that have produced biologically functioning artificial tissues [1]. These developments open new avenues for curing patients with malignant and impaired tissues.

In 1989, a book titled Tissue Engineering [7] was published with the first expressive definition of tissue engineering given by Robert Nerem:

Tissue engineering is the application of the principles and methods of engineering and the life sciences towards the fundamental understanding of structure/function relationships in normal and pathological mammalian tissues and the development of biological substitutes to restore, maintain, or improve functions.

The evolution from tissue engineering into regenerative medicine was driven by intense developments in the financial, research, and political landscape. However, from a financial point of view, the last two decades, anticipated to bring the biotechnological revolution, were characterized by a disconnect between expectations and reality. Current strategies to pursue the objectives of regenerative medicine are based on three concepts:

  • Cell-based therapy

  • Either biological or synthetic materials to restore cells and tissues

  • Implantation of scaffolds seeded with cells

Understanding innovative technologies is fundamental to developing successful approaches in the biotech sector and hence is influential in developing the field of regenerative medicine [8]. To date, only a multidisciplinary team, including doctors, biologists, bioengineers, surgeons, and chemists, is able to master all key steps in these revolutionary fields of regenerative medicine.