RESUMO
BACKGROUND:Macromolecule crowding agents exert a certain effect on collagen,glycosaminoglycans and growth factors in the extracellular matrix.OBJECTIVE:To summarize the effects of macromolecule crowding agents on the extracellular matrix and their applications in various cells or tissues.METHODS:"Macromolecular crowding,MMC,Tissue Engineering,Collagen" were used as key words to retrieve articles addressing the application of macromolecular crowding agents in the extracellular matrix and in the tissue engineering in PubMed,NCBI,CNKI from 2001 to 2017.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Macromolecule crowding agents can increase the deposition of extracellular matrix components,such as collagen,glycosaminoglycans and growth factors,to promote osteoblast adhesion,migration,growth and differentiation,as well as to promote the development of regenerative medicine in bone tissue engineering.However,some roles and mechanisms of macromolecule crowding agents have yet to be found or confirmed,and whether they can produce toxic effects in the human body has yet to be confirmed.Therefo further experimental research on these problems is warranted.