Research

Researchers in Asia create implantable blood vessels using 3D cell printing

Researchers in Korea and Hong Kong have used a modified 3D cell printing technique to fabricate a biomimetic blood vessel that was successfully implanted in a living rat.

据研究人员称,他们研究中概述的组织工程仿生血管的方法提供了耐用的小直径血管移植物的承诺路线。这些3D细胞印刷的血管移植物用于将血流重定向到另一个区域的血流,具有在未来的心血管疾病治疗中使用的可能性。

“人工血管是拯救患有心血管疾病的患者的必要工具,”GE GAO,作者在论文中。“有来自聚合物制成的临床用品,但它们没有活性细胞和血管功能。”

“我们想要组织工程师生活,功能性血管移植物。”

直接三相同轴细胞印刷仿生血管。图像通过应用物理评论。雷竞技在线登录
直接三相同轴细胞印刷仿生血管。图像通过应用物理评论。雷竞技在线登录

使用三相同轴电池印刷创建功能性血管移植物

研究人员解释说cardiov设定的任务ascular disease is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, and requires over one million vascular bypass/replacementsurgeries annually in the United States alone.

Tissue engineering, according to the authors of the paper, has emerged as a promising approach for creating viable small-diameter vascular grafts, which can be used to treat cardiovascular diseases through vessel implantation. However, thus far the construction of these vascular substitutes with both endothelial and muscular tissues has not been demonstrated.

The localization of endothelial cells and smooth muscle tissues is essential for the grafts to function. As explained by the authors of the paper, they state: “To produce grafts with regular vascular functions, reconstruction of two critical constituents must be achieved, namely: (1) a confluent and quiescent endothelium offering a nonthrombogenic interface to inhibit thrombosis, and (2) contractile smooth muscle tissues that can withstand hemodynamic stress, exhibit physiological compliance, and adapt to local blood pressure changes via constriction and relaxation.”

亚洲的研究人员使用三相同轴细胞印刷技术构建通过大鼠模型中的介入腹部主动脉移植物在体内评估的生物摩擦组织工程血管。图像通过应用物理评论。雷竞技在线登录
亚洲的研究人员使用三相同轴细胞印刷技术构建通过大鼠模型中的介入腹部主动脉移植物在体内评估的生物摩擦组织工程血管。图像通过应用物理评论。雷竞技在线登录

To overcome this hurdle, the researchers identified 3D cell printing due to its ability to construct tissue/organ equivalents. The coaxial-extrusion technique in particular, which uses a special nozzle to feed one type of material into another as it is extruded, enables the creation of vessel-like structures.

In order to successfully cell-print a functional tissue-engineered blood vessel, it was crucial for the research team to select cell-favorable bioinks that could both promote the cell functionality and enable the direct fabrication of vessels. Therefore, they developed a vascular-tissue-specific bioink formulated from smooth muscle cells from a human aorta and endothelial cells from an umbilical vein.

将这种生物源配方与三相同轴细胞印刷(RTCCP)技术相结合,从而使研究人员能够用双层架构创建功能性血管,这是经过现有的工程组织优于现有的工程组织:“开发的三相轴 - 细胞印刷技术使得能够实现直接施工含有内皮和肌肉层的血管替代品,“解释研究人员。

These blood vessels were grafted as abdominal aortas into six rats and monitored over several weeks. The scientists observed a transformation in which the rat’s fibroblasts formed a layer of connective tissue on the surface of the implant, allowing the fabricated vessel graft to integrate as part of the existing, living tissue. Concluding the paper, the authors stated: “These findings revealed that the vascular equivalent constructed using the presented technique is a promising choice for tissue-engineering small-diameter blood vessel grafts.”

向前发展,研究人员计划继续开发他们的过程利用RTCCP技术与血管组织特异性的生物链一起,特别是提高血管的强度更接近人冠状动脉的强度。他们还旨在对血管移植物进行长期评估,以便确定发生的事情,因为它们继续发展,并成为植入环境中的真实组织。

Characterization of in vitro remodeled tissue-engineered blood vessels. Image via Applied Physics Reviews.
Characterization of in vitro remodeled tissue-engineered blood vessels. Image via Applied Physics Reviews.

3D bioprinting in tissue engineering research

Tissue engineeringis a rapidly evolving field, and the latest advances in 3D printing and bioprinting has enabled the technology’s application in research projects seeking to build living tissue constructs in the shape of human organs.

For example, in late 2019, researchers from哈佛大学’sWYSS学院developed a novel sacrificial ink-writing technique called SWIFT (sacrificial writing into functional tissue) to3D print large, vascularized human organ building blocks(OBBS)。研究人员通过创建熔断和节拍在7天内同步的心脏组织来证明了该方法。

Around the same time, researchers at雷伊大学in Pennsylvania also presented a new 3D printing platform that facilitated theregeneration of multiple tissuesusing spatially functionalized scaffolds. The study details how 3D printing highly organized biomaterial scaffolds can be used to regenerate two different tissues.

Just recently, in February 2020, we reported on a study from New Jersey-basedRutgers Universitywhere engineers had developed a new adaptable bio-ink made of living cells that could be used to3D用于人体组织生长的印刷脚手架

The study discussed in this article, “Tissue-engineering of vascular grafts containing endothelium and smooth-muscle using triple-coaxial cell printing,” is authored by Ge Gao, Hyeok Kim, Byoung Soo Kim, Jeong Sik Kong, Jae Yeon Lee, Bong Woo Park, Su Hun Chae, Jisoo Kim, Kiwon Ban, Jinah Jang, Hun-Jun Park and Dong-Woo Cho. The research was supported by grants funded by the Korean government, the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE, Korea), and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. It is published in应用物理评论。雷竞技在线登录

The nominations for the2020 3D印刷业奖现在是开放的。您认为谁应该为今年的展会制作候选名单?你现在说。

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Featured image shows researchers in Asia used triple-coaxial cell printing technology to construct biomimetic tissue-engineered blood vessels that were evaluated in vivo through an interpositional abdominal aorta graft in a rat model. Image via Applied Physics Reviews.