Fig. 7.

Schematic demonstrating chemotactic ability of the decellularized tissue or cell-derived extracellular matrix. Directed or oriented movement of cells in response to a chemical stimulus or chemoattractant is referred to as chemotaxis. Utilization of dECM biomaterial or grafts can provide native tissue-specific bioactivity and offer biomimetic framework consisting of the major ECM components to mimic an in vivo microenvironment as well as can contribute to endogenous recruitment through their release of bioactive cues. Such strategies can stimulate an in situ tissue regeneration response as a cell-/growth factor-free tissue engineering strategy for the repair and regeneration of various tissues. The inner circle shows cellular recruitment by the implanted decellularized cartilage tissue, while the outer circle is depicting various tissues and organs for which the same concept can be applied to achieve cellular migration (or chemotaxis) needed for repair/regeneration.