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Harnessing the secreted extracellular matrix to engineer tissues

Nature Biomedical Engineering volume 4, pages 357–363 (2020)Cite this article

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As an intermediary between cells and scaffolding biomaterials, the extracellular matrix secreted by the cells offers challenges and opportunities for the design and fabrication of engineered tissues.

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Fig. 1: Biomaterials inspired by the extracellular matrix and cell-mediated material remodelling.
Fig. 2: Biomaterial-based strategies for harnessing the secreted ECM.
Fig. 3: Applications of the cell-secreted matrix.

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Acknowledgements

U.B. acknowledges postdoctoral-funding support from the Balgrist University Hospital Zurich. M.M.S and E.G. acknowledge support from the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform ‘Acellular / Smart Materials – 3D Architecture’ (grant no. MR/R015651/1).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Ulrich Blache

  2. Department of Orthopaedics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Ulrich Blache

  3. Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Molly M. Stevens

  4. Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, King’s College London, London, UK

    Eileen Gentleman

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  1. Ulrich Blache
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  2. Molly M. Stevens
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  3. Eileen Gentleman
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Correspondence to Molly M. Stevens or Eileen Gentleman.

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Blache, U., Stevens, M.M. & Gentleman, E. Harnessing the secreted extracellular matrix to engineer tissues. Nat Biomed Eng 4, 357–363 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-019-0500-6

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