Microscale tissue engineering using gravity-enforced cell assembly.
Designing artificial microtissues by reaggregation of monodispersed primary cells, neoplastic or engineered cell lines is providing insight into cell-cell interactions and underlying regulatory networks. Recent advances in microtissue production have highlighted the potential of scaffold-free cell aggregates in maintaining tissue-specific functionality, supporting seamless integration of implants into host tissues, and providing complex feeder structures for difficult-to-differentiate cell types. Furthermore, these tissues are amenable to therapeutic and phenotype-modulating interventions using latest-generation transduction technologies. Microtissues produce therapeutic transgenes at increased levels and offer tissue-like assay environments to improve drug-function correlations in current discovery programs. Here, we outline scaffold-free microtissue design in liver, heart and cartilage, and discuss how this technology could significantly impact regenerative medicine.
Kelm
Jens M
JM
Institute of Biotechnology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Hoenggerberg, HPT D74, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
Fussenegger
Martin
M
D000818:Animals; D002356:Cartilage / Q000502:physiology; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D006112:Gravitation; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000502:physiology; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*