The basis of RM is that the body ‘knows’ how to regenerate from sustained
damage. In RM, scientists investigate the fundamental mechanisms of tissue
repair and regeneration and translate their knowledge into therapies that
amplify the bodies’ endogenous regeneration capacity. This comprises of the
use of synthetic polymer scaffolds to support tissue architecture and their
use to deliver stem cells to augment regeneration. Regeneration differs from
repair in that it literally leaves no scars after the process is completed.
For instance after myocardial infarction, a large amount of heart muscle
tissue is lost, which is replaced by scar tissue to ensure structural
integrity. However, this repair has a severe drawback, because the remaining
heart muscle cells have to almost double their performance, which results in
lethal heart failure. As an example, RM aims to prevent heart failure by
intervention early after myocardial. We aim at genuine cardiac regeneration
through application of cardiac stem cells together with so-called
instructive(or smart) biomaterials. In addition, RM also foresees an
important role for regulatory cells, such as endothelial progenitor cells
(EPC).

All in all RM aims at dictating an appropriate microenvironment that
prevents scarring yet drives regeneration. Although, much of this would
seem to be more science fiction than science, tremendous progress has been
accomplished in the field of RM as a whole, which will be presented during
the workshop.