A miRNA-based strategy to improve osteogenesis in hydrogels for bone tissue engineering

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC) are the cells present in the body, which can grow and change/differentiate into various types of body tissues including bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, tendon and ligament. The type of tissue MSC differentiate into depends on the physical, chemical and biological signals sensed by them; therefore, careful control of these signals can direct MSC to form the tissue of interest, which is a promising approach for tissue repair/regeneration applications. This thesis aims to identify the appropriate physical and biological signal to guide MSC to form bone tissue with an aim to repair or regenerate damaged bones.