title: Development of a 3D cell printed construct considering angiogenesis for liver tissue engineering.
abstract: Several studies have focused on the regeneration of liver tissue in a two-dimensional (2D) planar environment, whereas actual liver tissue is three-dimensional (3D). Cell printing technology has been successfully utilized for building 3D structures; however, the poor mechanical properties of cell-laden hydrogels are a major concern. Here, we demonstrate the printing of a 3D cell-laden construct and its application to liver tissue engineering using 3D cell printing technology through a multi-head tissue/organ building system. Polycaprolactone (PCL) was used as a framework material because of its excellent mechanical properties. Collagen bioink containing three different types of cells-hepatocytes (HCs), human umbilical vein endothelial cells , and human lung fibroblasts--was infused into the canals of a PCL framework to induce the formation of capillary--like networks and liver cell growth. A co-cultured 3D microenvironment of the three types of cells was successfully established and maintained. The vascular formation and functional abilities of HCs (i.e., albumin secretion and urea synthesis) demonstrated that the heterotypic interaction among HCs and nonparenchymal cells increased the survivability and functionality of HCs within the collagen gel. Therefore, our results demonstrate the prospect of using cell printing technology for the creation of heterotypic cellular interaction within a structure for liver tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, Gachon University, 7-45, Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-ku, Incheon, 406-840, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yeong-Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Woon-Jae
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Yong
authors.forename: Falguni
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pati
authors.forename: Jin-Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Kyung Shin
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: In-Hye
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Jaesung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dong-Woo
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021522:Bioartificial Organs; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000254:growth & development*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds