Application of the cell sheet technique in tissue engineering

The development and application of the tissue engineering technique has shown a significant potential in regenerative medicine. However, the limitations of conventional tissue engineering methods (cell suspensions, scaffolds and/or growth factors) restrict its application in certain fields. The novel cell sheet technique can overcome such disadvantages. Cultured cells can be harvested as intact sheets without the use of proteolytic enzymes, such as trypsin or dispase, which can result in cell damage and loss of differentiated phenotypes. The cell sheet is a complete layer, which contains extracellular matrix, ion channel, growth factor receptors, nexin and other important cell surface proteins. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which have the potential for multiple differentiation, are promising candidate seed cells for tissue engineering. The MSC sheet technique may have potential in the fields of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering in general. Additionally, induced pluripotent stem cell and embryonic stem cell-derived cell sheets have been proposed for tissue regeneration. Currently, the application of cell sheet for tissue reconstruction includes: Direct recipient sites implantation, superposition of cell sheets to construct three-dimensional structure for implantation, or cell sheet combined with scaffolds. The present review discusses the progress in cell sheet techniques, particularly stem cell sheet techniques, in tissue engineering.