title: 3D in vitro modeling of the central nervous system.
abstract: There are currently more than 600 diseases characterized as affecting the central nervous system (CNS) which inflict neural damage. Unfortunately, few of these conditions have effective treatments available. Although significant efforts have been put into developing new therapeutics, drugs which were promising in the developmental phase have high attrition rates in late stage clinical trials. These failures could be circumvented if current 2D in vitro and in vivo models were improved. 3D, tissue-engineered in vitro systems can address this need and enhance clinical translation through two approaches: (1) bottom-up, and (2) top-down (developmental/regenerative) strategies to reproduce the structure and function of human tissues. Critical challenges remain including biomaterials capable of matching the mechanical properties and extracellular matrix (ECM) composition of neural tissues, compartmentalized scaffolds that support heterogeneous tissue architectures reflective of brain organization and structure, and robust functional assays for in vitro tissue validation. The unique design parameters defined by the complex physiology of the CNS for construction and validation of 3D in vitro neural systems are reviewed here.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Science & Technology Center, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Science & Technology Center, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: DeSimone
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Science & Technology Center, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chwalek
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Science & Technology Center, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155, USA. Electronic address: David.Kaplan@Tufts.edu.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008954:Models, Biological; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials
keywords: 3D in vitro model; Blood–brain barrier; Central nervous systems; Tissue engineering