v. 1243

This publication is the 6th proceedings volume in a series of "Symposia on Tissue Engineering for Therapeutic Use". These symposia were sponsored by the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) to encourage research on tissue engineering in Japan. The previous five volumes have also been published as part of the ICS series, and this volume is the last in the series. The Tissue Engineering Research Project was set up in 1996 and during the course of the 5 years that the first symposia were held, it became apparent that the scope of the research had expanded. In view of this, a 6th and final symposia was needed to complete the coverage of this challenging topic. This volume, along with the previous proceedings, gives the reader a comprehensive coverage of the state of the research on Tissue Engineering in Japan. The closing of the Tissue Engineering Project is only the beginning for tissue engineering research.