A heuristic computational model of basic cellular processes and oxygenation during spheroid-dependent biofabrication

An emerging approach in biofabrication is the creation of 3D tissue constructs through scaffold-free, cell spheroid-only methods. The basic mechanism in this technology is spheroid fusion, which is driven by the minimization of energy, the same biophysical mechanism that governs spheroid formation. However, other factors such as oxygen and metabolite accessibility within spheroids impact on spheroid properties and their ability to form larger-scale structures. The goal of our work is to develop a simulation platform eventually capable of predicting the conditions that minimize metabolism-related cell loss within spheroids. To describe the behavior and dynamic properties of the cells in response to their neighbors and to transient nutrient concentration fields, we developed a hybrid discrete-continuous heuristic model, combining a cellular Potts-type approach with field equations applied to a randomly populated spheroid cross-section of prescribed cell-type constituency. This model allows for the description of: (i) cellular adhesiveness and motility; (ii) interactions with concentration fields, including diffusivity and oxygen consumption; and (iii) concentration-dependent, stochastic cell dynamics, driven by metabolite-dependent cell death. Our model readily captured the basic steps of spheroid-based biofabrication (as specifically dedicated to scaffold-free bioprinting), including intra-spheroid cell sorting (both in 2D and 3D implementations), spheroid defect closure, and inter-spheroid fusion. Moreover, we found that when hypoxia occurring at the core of the spheroid was set to trigger cell death, this was amplified upon spheroid fusion, but could be mitigated by external oxygen supplementation. In conclusion, optimization and further development of scaffold-free bioprinting techniques could benefit from our computational model which is able to simultaneously account for both cellular dynamics and metabolism in constructs obtained by scaffold-free biofabrication.