Integrative Biology

Biography

Biography: Adam Qingsong Ye

Abstract

Cleft lip and palate is the most common birth deformity of the face, and occurs in one of every 600-800 newborns. Cleft lip and palate is believed to be a multi-factorial process, involving genetic and environmental factors. Approximately 75% cleft patients have an osseous defect in the alveolus, which could affect the normal development of a child’s appearance and speech. The conventional strategy for the reconstitution of bone defect largely relies on multi-surgical procedures of bone grafts. One major shortcoming with regard to this technique is the absorption of the implanted bone grafts. The implantation of auto-bone graft or artificial bone substitutes always causes an inflammatory response, i.e. foreign body reaction, which induces the degradation of the implanted bone grafts. Recent Cochrane systematic review has shown inconclusive results with this method. In order to prevent the inflammatory reaction against implanted bone grafts and to prevent the multi-surgical procedures in the treatment of cleft, a novel strategy to repair bony defects through an endogenous bone regenerative technique was proposed. This method bases on a nano-delivery release controlled system and applies the patient’s own regenerative ‘facilities’, e.g. patient-derived growth factors, to build up a scaffold niche in the defected site where the stem cells/progenitor from neighboring tissues can be recruited for in situ regeneration of the hard tissue.