Understanding the Science Behind Regeneration for Its Implications in the Medicine of the Future

Abstract

The use of microbial and human cells for therapy is a new concept in medicine and has the potential to engineer a revolution in the pharmaceutical industry, which was earlier dominated by small-molecule drugs and was later revolutionized by the advent of biologics. This so-called “third pillar” of therapeutics will however depend on the development of the science of cellular engineering. This science should provide a systematic framework for safely and predictably altering and regulating cellular behavior. The application of dynamic cell behavior in clinical research, based on the principle of replacement or repair of dead or damaged cells, will initiate the use of cell therapy in clinical medicine. This, in other words, is what consists regenerative medicine, which can also be labeled futuristic medicine. There is tremendous progress on key issues and on the understanding of the process of regeneration that are common to natural regenerative events. The crux of the problem is to determine or predict the regenerative capacity of a cell or group of cells including an organ and its effective functioning. The roles of stem cells, its participation or nonparticipation at the regeneration stimulus, which again depends on its ambience or niche; its capacity for transdifferentiation or dedifferentiation; as well as its cytokine support signals, are very crucial. These factors control the initiation and targeting of regenerative activity including its participation, proliferation, and patterning.