Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
36852 | Trends in Biotechnology | 2014 | 8 Pages |
•Regenerative engineering has been recently proposed to regenerate complex tissue.•Therapeutic proteins have many limitations for their use in regenerating tissues.•Small-molecule-based therapeutics is emerging as an alternative strategy.•Small molecules may represent the next generation in musculoskeletal regenerative medicine.
Clinicians and scientists working in the field of regenerative engineering are actively investigating a wide range of methods to promote musculoskeletal tissue regeneration. Small-molecule-mediated tissue regeneration is emerging as a promising strategy for regenerating various musculoskeletal tissues and a large number of small-molecule compounds have been recently discovered as potential bioactive molecules for musculoskeletal tissue repair and regeneration. In this review, we summarize the recent literature encompassing the past 4 years in the area of small bioactive molecules for promoting repair and regeneration of various musculoskeletal tissues including bone, muscle, cartilage, tendon, and nerve.