From in vitro to in situ tissue engineering.

In vitro tissue engineering enables the fabrication of functional tissues for tissue replacement. In addition, it allows us to build useful physiological and pathological models for mechanistic studies. However, the translation of in vitro tissue engineering into clinical therapies presents a number of technical and regulatory challenges. It is possible to circumvent the complexity of developing functional tissues in vitro by taking an in situ tissue engineering approach that uses the body as a native bioreactor to regenerate tissues. This approach harnesses the innate regenerative potential of the body and directs the appropriate cells to the site of injury. This review surveys the biomaterial-, cell-, and chemical factor-based strategies to engineer tissue in vitro and in situ.