Abstract Purpose of Review Regenerative medicine is transforming modern healthcare by offering personalized approaches to the treatment of diseases and injuries. With rapid market growth and significant breakthroughs in cell and biomaterial technologies, the field is poised to reshape the future of medicine. This short review highlights emerging trends, and the critical roles of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and 3D biomanufacturing in advancing regenerative solutions and challenges. Recent Findings Recent studies have shown that the potentials of hiPSCs have been significantly limited by current monolayer (2D) or 3D suspension technologies. hiPSCs require physiologically relevant 3D microenvironment to support their migration and signaling and interact with the 3D environment as well as between hiPSCs themselves, regulating and sustaining their proliferation and pluripotency, thereby enabling long-term maintenance, expansion, and differentiation. Summary hiPSCs play a significant role in regenerative medicine, including applications in drug development, disease modeling, and tissue regeneration. Synthetic peptide hydrogels (PepGel), such as PGmatrix, have demonstrated the ability to enable physiologically relevant 3D biomanufacturing of hiPSCs by supporting the maintenance and growth of hiPSCs in a biologically natural manner while preserving their pluripotent integrity for high performance somatic cells and organoids production. Advanced automation and AI aided processing have been aligned to traditional 2D culture and 3D suspension systems, which need to be adapted into physiologically relevant biomanufacturing of 3D hiPSC and their derived products.

Purpose of ReviewAs interest in healthy lifestyles and youthfulness grows, anti-aging research has become increasingly popular among healthcare professionals and scientists. Skin aging and damage is a complex and multifactorial process influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) and their derivatives show promise as therapeutic candidates due to their regenerative properties. This review explores the etiology and pathophysiology of skin aging and damage, along with the potential of MSCs and MSC-based products in its treatment.Recent FindingsRecent studies have highlighted the ability of MSCs and their derivatives to enhance skin regeneration through paracrine signaling, extracellular vesicle (EV) release and direct cellular differentiation. MSC-based therapies have demonstrated efficacy in enhancing skin elasticity, reducing oxidative stress and regulating inflammatory responses. Moreover, advances in bioengineering such as MSC-derived EVs, exosomes, secretome, whole cells and conditioned media, have further expanded their clinical potential.SummaryMSC-based therapies offer significant potential in anti-aging treatments by addressing key aging factors. Nevertheless while preclinical and clinical studies have shown positive outcomes future research must include studies with standardized procedures and large sample sizes to confirm their safety and efficacy.Graphical

Purpose of ReviewHematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) occupy the summit of the intricate hematopoiesis hierarchy, constituting a mere 0.01% of the adult bone marrow. The rarity of these cells poses a challenge in exploring their biological intricacies. Historically, research efforts grappled with this scarcity, often investigating broader cell populations that encompass multipotent progenitor cells, with HSCs representing only a modest 2–5%. Consequently, a crucial necessity emerged for methodologies accommodating the constraints imposed by the low abundance of HSCs.Recent FindingsIn the last decade, the landscape has transformed with the advent of multi-omics technologies, such as single-cell-based approaches encompassing proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, and epigenetics. These advancements, coupled with refined ex vivo and in vivo models of stem cells, have ushered in a new era where the independent study of HSCs has become feasible. Notably, strides in humanized models have further enriched the scientific toolkit, enabling the validation of HSC biology within human systems.SummaryThis review attempts to spotlight recent breakthroughs and their associated advantages and disadvantages, collectively illuminating the avenues that now exist for delving into the intricate biology of functional HSCs.

Purpose of ReviewThere is an urgent unmet clinical need for effective therapies for obstetric complications such as fetal growth restriction, pre-eclampsia and preterm birth. These global health conditions have long term consequences for the health of survivors and the families affected, as well as societal and economic implications. Despite decades of research, prevention and treatment options are limited and often demonstrate suboptimal efficacy. Thus, cutting-edge approaches, such as gene delivery, may offer a novel solution. With the advancement of prenatal gene therapy preclinical research for the treatment of inherited diseases, the safe delivery of these technologies in utero is becoming a reality.Recent FindingsWe will give insights into the current preclinical research specifically relating to maternal gene delivery to improve the outcomes of pregnancy-related conditions.SummaryObstetric disorders lack effective prevention and treatment options. Innovative approaches, such as gene transfer, may provide a promising alternative. This review summarises potential gene therapies in preclinical development for fetal growth restriction, pre-eclampsia and preterm birth.

Purpose of ReviewTo explore the advances and future research directions in image analysis and computational modelling of human stem cells (hSCs) for ophthalmological applications.Recent FindingshSCs hold great potential in ocular regenerative medicine due to their application in cell-based therapies and in disease modelling and drug discovery using state-of-the-art 2D and 3D organoid models. However, a deeper characterisation of their complex, multi-scale properties is required to optimise their translation to clinical practice. Image analysis combined with computational modelling is a powerful tool to explore mechanisms of hSC behaviour and aid clinical diagnosis and therapy.SummaryMany computational models draw on a variety of techniques, often blending continuum and discrete approaches, and have been used to describe cell differentiation and self-organisation. Machine learning tools are having a significant impact in model development and improving image classification processes for clinical diagnosis and treatment and will be the focus of much future research.