About this Special Issue
Diabetes is a chronic disease in which patients develop debilitating disorders over the years. The number of patients affected by diabetes is growing exponentially predicted to reach 642 million by the year 2040. Globally, diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death and accounts for at least 10% of total healthcare expenditure.
The fast-growing interdisciplinary field of regenerative medicine offers significant potential to advance the understanding of complex cellular processes and to enable personalized approaches in the management of a wide range of conditions including type 1 diabetes. The main pillars of regenerative medicine are biomaterials, 3D bioprinting, stem cells, organoids and a combination of thereof. The appropriate combination of these factors is crucial for successful replacement of damaged organ lost functions.
For the prompt and effective advancement of the regenerative medicine field, there are still several critical issues that need to be addressed. For example, defining the most potent source of stem cells and biomaterials and improved the understanding of the immune system's role in regeneration may aid this goal and used for modulation of a desirable microenvironment. Finally, 3D tissue culture models will permit effective testing of regenerative medicine approaches.
In this issue, we are aiming to collect research articles and reviews on regenerative medicine for diabetes covering important areas: stem cell engineering, regulation of the microenvironment, biomaterial design for bioartificial pancreas engineering, and in vivo tissue repair and regeneration.
Keywords: Regenerative medicine, Biomaterials, bioartificial pancreas, Stem cells, 3D organoids
