Prospects for the use of 3D cultures of mesenchymal stromal cells in bone regeneration

Bone defects can be caused by trauma, mechanical stress or diseases such as osteoporosis or malignant neoplasms. In this literature review, we aimed to evaluate the prospects of using 3D cultures of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for bone regeneration. The search for scientific papers was conducted in the Pubmed database and the National Electronic Library (elibrary.ru). Traditional approaches to the treatment of bone defects such as auto- or allograft transplantation or the use of non-degradable implants have a number of disadvantages associated with limited availability of donor tissues, long recovery and risk of complications. This leads to a growing interest in cell technologies and materials capable of promoting bone regeneration at the biological level. MSCs have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into various cell lineages including adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts (cells that are responsible for the formation of bone tissue). Scaffolds are three-dimensional porous or fibrous structures used as a substrate for tissue growth and regeneration in biomedicine. Scaffold-based 3D cultures of MSCs represent a promising platform for bone repair providing both structural integrity and the biological activity of regenerative tissue. Advances in tissue engineering contribute to the development of new approaches to bone repair that may potentially influence the everyday clinical practice. Today, tissue engineering methods can be used to create scaffolds that are just as good as bone auto- and allografts, if not even better in some respects.