Culture Strategies to Enhance Engineered Tissue Phenotype

The field of tissue engineering seeks to create clinically effective materials for the repair of damaged tissues and organs and the treatment of medical conditions brought on by trauma, disease or congenital defects. Tissue engineering strategies involve the incorporation of novel biomaterials with biologics and/or pharmaceutics, that upon implantation in the patient will stimulate angiogenesis, tissue integration, and/or tissue remodeling. Critical to the development of effective tissues are strategies that enhance phenotypic markers of the target tissue, and may include approaches that regulate cell adhesion, intercellular communication, activation of receptor-mediated signaling pathways, or mechanotransduction. This session seeks abstracts that describe novel in vitro strategies to enhance phenotypic markers of engineered tissues, including (but not limited to) liver, pancreas, retina, muscle, skin, tendon, cartilage, bone, vascular, and nerve.