3D in vitro tissue models and their potential for drug screening

Area of Science:

• Tissue bioengineering and its application in drug discovery.
• Development of standardized in vitro three-dimensional (3D) tissue models.

Background:

• Current limitations in developing a single, simplified 3D tissue model for broad biological and pathological investigation.
• Potential for standardized models tailored to individual tissues or organs.
• Tissue bioengineering is developing miniaturized technologies for high-throughput screening (HTS) of potential drugs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight advances in tissue bioengineering for pre-clinical optimization of drug candidates.
• To discuss models suitable for HTS, focusing on detection platforms and data modeling.

Main Methods:

• Review of current tissue bioengineering advancements.
• Analysis of models amenable to high-throughput screening.
• Discussion of detection platforms and data modeling strategies.

Main Results:

• Three-dimensional (3D) micro-organoid systems are poised to increase in importance for drug testing and therapeutics.
• Collaboration across disciplines (biology, physics, engineering) is expanding cell-based assays into tissue analysis.
• Standardized models for individual tissues/organs are a feasible goal, though a universal model is not yet achievable.

Conclusions:

• Mimicking in-vivo architecture with 3D tissue models remains a significant challenge.
• Advancements in HTS analysis introduce new potential pitfalls.
• Integrating biofabrication with HTS is expected to substantially decrease attrition rates in drug development.