The Regeneration of Organogenesis

Abstract

We would like to welcome our readers to the regenerated Organogenesis and to share with you the reasoning behind the refocusing of this journal toward the development of tissues and organs as a future means to improve the health of patients.

The traditional paradigm of organ and tissue formation is related to the evolution of the basic relationships of the three primitive germ layers as they develop and mature over time. The original emphasis of the journal on developmental biology has given its readers a rich context in which to observe the effect of changes in gene expression, the relationship of immature cells to their surroundings and alternations in cell differentiation that together affect tissue and organ growth, structure and function. Importantly, this emphasis on developmental biology also allows for the improved understanding of congenital diseases that occur when these processes go awry. As a new focus for Organogenesis, organ and tissue development for eventual replacement is a new means to heal tissues that are damaged by both acquired disease and congenital malformations. However, this technology is now at a crossroads. The success of organ transplantation has become its chief limiting factor as the number of patients waiting for a transplanted organ far surpasses the availability of useable cadaveric organs for donation and this gap widens year after year. Although research into the traditional immune pathways governing organ rejection remains intense and is an important driver of technological advances in transplantation, the “Holy Grail” is now shifting away from the development of new immune modulators, costimulatory inhibitors and tolerance induction, which have now all largely been achieved. Instead, a new emphasis for a breakthrough in transplantation has moved toward technologies that expand the donor pool through organ rehabilitation and regeneration. A series of key questions emerge from these observations and are waiting to be addressed in the years to come:

▪ How will the integration of developmental biology, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine best fit together to develop the artificial organs and tissues of the future?

▪ How can we best provide a forum through which innovators, developmental biologists, physicians, surgeons, engineers and entrepreneurs connect together to rapidly share novel ideas and innovations that help the development of new regenerative therapies?

▪ What is the optimal strategy for a print and electronic publication to best merge disciplines and connect the principal stakeholders to accelerate scientific development?

Organogenesis seeks to address, and hopefully answer, these questions through its published papers and perspectives. As scientists, engineers, physicians and entrepreneurs, we have entered into a new era where the shared understanding of the basic mechanisms by which organs and tissues are formed can aid the development of regenerative technologies leading to long lasting artificial organs, stem cell therapies and organ replacement systems that will be used to treat genetic and acquired diseases in the years ahead. In our opinion, the widespread application of this technology will be based upon developing organs and tissues “on demand,” ideally by using a recipient patient’s own cells. To achieve this goal, the disciplines of biomedical engineering, cell/molecular biology and medicine are converging to lend elements from each field that will be needed to grow organs and tissues for patients in need.

Although much has been written about organ transplantation, tissue engineering and developmental biology, Organogenesis will be the platform that accelerates the pace at which application-directed medical science is presented and developed as a disruptive innovation to change the face of how chronic disease is treated and medical therapies are administered. Organ and composite tissue transplantation, cellular therapy, regeneration, drug discovery, xenotrans-plantation, biotechnology and stem cells are some of the most exciting fields that will accelerate over the next quarter-century. Together, we have brought a new formula to Organogenesis along with the re-orientation in scope to capture these changing fields. Our regenerated Editorial Board is therefore made up of not just notable developmental scientists and biomedical engineers, but also a team of experts in the medicine of organ and cell transplantation. We have created a new Executive Advisory Editorial Board and Associate Editors to help guide and lead the charge of Organogenesis.

Our goal is to publish world-class, high-impact articles that expand our readership and enhance the citation of published manuscripts. Organogenesis is included in the major online catalogs, and this will enhance our effort to expand readership and manuscript citations. We will continue the long-standing tradition of inviting targeted reviews in our focused topic areas. We also encourage the submission of primary, research driven papers that advance the field and are respected by their peers. Our collective goal is to provide innovators with a forum through which they can present their scientific discoveries, revolutionary ideas and the new medical treatments of tomorrow.

Organogenesis publishes articles in the form of perspectives, reviews and original data-driven research papers, and this issue contains examples of each. We have added a new element to the journal in a recurring column called “Extra Views” that will be coordinated by Ge Zhang, acquisitions editor. This section will be a timely discussion of noteworthy research-oriented articles published in the literature and are written by invited authors. We invite you to read examples of each of these in this quarter’s issue. Some of the topics contained in this issue include discussions on adipose-derived stem cells, optimization of tissue scaffolds for cartilage and bone reconstruction and a review on safeguarding induced pluripotent stem cells as this technology moves toward clinical application.

Organogenesis was first published in July 2004 under the outstanding leadership of Jamie Davies. At that time the journal was published biannually; now it is published quarterly. Organogenesis is also indexed on major online catalogs including Medline/Pubmed, Science Citation Index, Biotechnology Citation Index and others.

We encourage all interested researchers, scientists, clinicians and engineers to submit original research manuscripts or to inquire about authoring a review or an “Extra Views” column. We hope that this journal provides a missing link between developmental biology and organ/tissue engineering. As social media has grown, Organogenesis, like many other journals, has become a member of Facebook. We would encourage you to “Like” our Facebook page to receive updates on Organogenesis and new breakthroughs in organ and tissue engineering science.

We would like to thank our readers in both the print and online editions for their continued, dedicated readership. We also welcome a new audience to the journal of Organogenesis. With this editorial we hereby introduce the newly regenerated Organogenesis that will now be a vehicle for the dissemination of knowledge in the fields of stem cells and differentiation, xenotrans-plantation, developmental biology, tissue and organ engineering, artificial organ development, regenerative medicine and composite tissue allo-transplantation.

Sincerely,

Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez and Jason A. Wertheim

University of Pittsburgh Northwestern University