Flexible Fabrication of Shape-Controlled Collagen Building Blocks for Self-Assembly of 3D Microtissues.
Creating artificial tissue-like structures that possess the functionality, specificity, and architecture of native tissues remains a big challenge. A new and straightforward strategy for generating shape-controlled collagen building blocks with a well-defined architecture is presented, which can be used for self-assembly of complex 3D microtissues. Collagen blocks with tunable geometries are controllably produced and released via a membrane-templated microdevice. The formation of functional microtissues by embedding tissue-specific cells into collagen blocks with expression of specific proteins is described. The spontaneous self-assembly of cell-laden collagen blocks into organized tissue constructs with predetermined configurations is demonstrated, which are largely driven by the synergistic effects of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. This new strategy would open up new avenues for the study of tissue/organ morphogenesis, and tissue engineering applications.
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457, Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
Xu
X
Zhang
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457, Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
Zhaoxu
Z
Meng
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457, Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
Jingyun
J
Ma
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457, Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
Yang
Y
Shi
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457, Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.|Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
Hui
H
Xu
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457, Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.|Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
Simon
S
Lykkemark
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457, Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
Jianhua
J
Qin
D021522:Bioartificial Organs; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
D003094:Collagen
building block; collagen; microdevices; microtissues; self assembly