ABSTRACT
Tissue engineering, according to its recent denition suggested by Prof. Williams in 2006 [3], is the creation of new tissue for the therapeutic reconstruction of the human body by the deliberate and controlled stimulation of selected target cells through a systematic combination of molecular and mechanical signals. If regenerative medical paradigms based on this rened tissue-engineering concept are realized in routine clinical practice, a new therapeutic approach for disease therapy could be developed based on the regeneration of defective or lost tissues and on the biological substitution of organ functions. Although tissue engineering is not yet delivering signicant progress in terms of clinical outcomes and commercialization, this fascinating eld of research is bound to dramatically change clinical practice and the therapeutic choices made by clinicians, resulting in signicant therapeutic benets for patients for whom there are not currently any clinically effective therapies [4].
