Dr. Yoshimitsu Kuroyanagi (Emeritus Professor of Kitasato University)
Title : Design of Tissue-Engineered Products for Skin Regenerative Medicine
Abstract
In a general wound healing process, foreign bodies and tissue detritus have to be broken down and then a new tissue is produced. However, the new tissue formation sometimes fails to proceed under the impaired conditions such as burn injury and intractable skin ulcer. To improve these wound conditions, researchers have been trying to create several types of artificial skins. In this review, the practical design of tissue-engineered products for skin regenerative medicine is introduced. The first design makes it possible to release antibacterial agent from a wound dressing. The second design makes it possible to release epidermal growth factor from a wound dressing. The third design makes it possible to release several types of growth factors from allogeneic fibroblasts within cultured dermal substitute. Although allogeneic cells are rejected gradually in immune system, they are able to release some types of growth factors, and thereby regenerate a damaged tissue. The clinical study demonstrated that these tissue-engineered products are promising for the treatment of burn injury and intractable skin ulcer.
Dr. Toshinori Kimura (Emeritus Professor of Hokkaido University)
Title : Talking about today’s issues to achieve sustainable growth including food, environment and energy --- based on my 45 years’ experience
Food, environment and energy are said to be important contemporary issues for human survival. However, these are not the new issues that have been dealt with since the 1970s when I entered the way of the researcher. Food supply and the finiteness of resources were widely understood by population increase in developing countries and by the oil crisis which occurred in 1973. Well balancing between conservation of global environment and human’s activity of food and commodity production is particularly important for solving the issues. Instead wide study and technology development of that purpose have been done up to today, why are they still today’s issues?
As I wrote above, I have worked in these fields more than 45 years as a professor of university and various committee member both in public and private sectors. I would like to introduce several technological challenges which have been done, and to probe into the merits and demerits to realize the sustainable society.