The multiple interactions between growth factors and microenvironment in vivo

The extracellular matrices (ECMs), which form the supportive meshwork around the cells, are largely composed of proteins and polysaccharide secreted by cells, while, growth factors, which almost all exist in ECMs, are polypeptides synthesized and secreted…

The multiple interactions between growth factors and microenvironment in vivo

Cell, growth factors and extracellular ma- trices (ECMs) coexist in a dynamic tissue envi- ron- ment. A knowledge of multiple interactions among them is highly important for effectively raising the biological activities of growth factors, regulating cell life cycle, designing and preparing exogenous mat- rices to control growth factors release in tissue or organ regeneration by engineering means. This pa- per addresses the characteristics and functions of growth factors, interactions between growth factors and ECMs, the manners and correlative signaling of growth factors acting on cells, and briefly summarizes the biomimetic requisites for controlled release mat- rices, hoping to provide a useful reference for co- rrelative research in tissue engineering.