title: InVERT molding for scalable control of tissue microarchitecture.
abstract: Complex tissues contain multiple cell types that are hierarchically organized within morphologically and functionally distinct compartments. Construction of engineered tissues with optimized tissue architecture has been limited by tissue fabrication techniques, which do not enable versatile microscale organization of multiple cell types in tissues of size adequate for physiological studies and tissue therapies. Here we present an 'Intaglio-Void/Embed-Relief Topographic molding' method for microscale organization of many cell types, including induced pluripotent stem cell-derived progeny, within a variety of synthetic and natural extracellular matrices and across tissues of sizes appropriate for in vitro, pre-clinical, and clinical studies. We demonstrate that compartmental placement of non-parenchymal cells relative to primary or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocytes, compartment microstructure, and cellular composition modulate hepatic functions. Configurations found to sustain physiological function in vitro also result in survival and function in mice for at least 4 weeks, demonstrating the importance of architectural optimization before implantation.
authors.affiliation: Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Ungrin
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Christine
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Chaturvedi
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Zandstra
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Bhatia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002451:Cell Compartmentation; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D051381:Rats; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*