Application of stem cells in tissue engineering for defense medicine

The dynamic nature of modern warfare,including threats and injuries faced by soldiers,necessitates the development of countermeasures that address a wide variety of injuries.Tissue engineering has emerged as a field with the potential to provide contemporary solutions.In this review,discussions focus on the applications of stem cells in tissue engineering to address health risks frequently faced by combatants at war.Human development depends intimately on stem cells,the mysterious precursor to every kind of cell in the body that,with proper instruction,can grow and differentiate into any new tissue or organ.Recent reports have suggested the greater therapeutic effects of the anti-inflammatory,trophic,paracrine and immune-modulatory functions associated with these cells,which induce them to restore normal healing and tissue regeneration by modulating immune reactions,regulating inflammation,and suppressing fibrosis.Therefore,the use of stem cells holds significant promise for the treatment of many battlefield injuries and their complications.These applications include the treatment of injuries to the skin,sensory organs,nervous system tissues,the musculoskeletal system,circulatory/pulmonary tissues and genitals/testicles and of acute radiation syndrome and the development of novel biosensors.The new research developments in these areas suggest that solutions are being developed to reduce critical consequences of wounds and exposures suffered in warfare.Current military applications of stem cell-based therapies are already saving the lives of soldiers who would have died in previous conflicts.Injuries that would have resulted in deaths previously now result in wounds today;similarly,today’s permanent wounds may be reduced to tomorrow’s bad memories with further advances in stem cell-based therapies.

Electromagnetic field exposure as a plausible approach to enhance the proliferation and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in clinically relevant scenarios

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cell(MSC)-based therapy has been regarded as one of the most revolutionary breakthroughs in the history of modern medicine owing to its myriad of immunoregulatory and regenerative properties.With the rapid progress in the fields of osteo-and musculoskeletal therapies,the demand for MSC-based treatment modalities is becoming increasingly prominent.In this endeavor,researchers around the world have devised new and innovative techniques to support the proliferation of MSCs while minimizing the loss of hallmark features of stem cells.One such example is electromagnetic field(EMF)exposure,which is an alternative approach with promising potential.In this review,we present a critical discourse on the efficiency,practicability,and limitations of some of the relevant methods,with insurmountable evidence backing the implementation of EMF as a feasible strategy for the clinically relevant expansion of MSCs.