Three-dimensional tissues using human pluripotent stem cell spheroids as biofabrication building blocks

Area of Science:

• * Stem cell biology
• * Tissue engineering
• * Regenerative medicine

Background:

• * Biofabrication using cellular spheroids is a novel tissue engineering strategy.
• * Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are suitable for generating large cell numbers and differentiating into various cell types.
• * A hydrogel-based system efficiently produces hPSC spheroids for tissue biofabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To compare two methods for biofabricating tissues using hPSC spheroids.
• * To assess the impact of neuronal differentiation on hPSC spheroid fusion rates.
• * To determine the optimal method for neural tissue biofabrication.

Main Methods:

• * Culturing hPSCs into spheroids using a hydrogel system.
• * Differentiating hPSC spheroids towards cortical and midbrain dopaminergic neurons.
• * Quantifying spheroid fusion rates before and after differentiation.
• * Evaluating two distinct biofabrication strategies (Method 1 and Method 2).

Main Results:

• * Spheroid fusion rates significantly decreased as differentiation progressed.
• * Method 1, involving differentiation after initial tissue biofabrication, was more effective for neural tissue.
• * Method 2, where spheroids differentiate before biofabrication, showed reduced fusion efficacy.

Conclusions:

• * The fusion capacity of hPSC spheroids diminishes with neuronal differentiation.
• * Method 1 is a viable strategy for biofabricating neural tissues.
• * Further research can optimize spheroid-based tissue engineering approaches.