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Tissue Engineering: Construction of a Multicellular 3D Scaffold for the Delivery of Layered Cell Sheets
Published on: October 3, 2014
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Microfiber-shaped building-block tissues with endothelial networks for constructing macroscopic tissue assembly.
Yuta Kurashina, Ryo Sato1, Hiroaki Onoe
1School of Integrated Design Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522, Japan.
APL Bioengineering
|November 19, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed microfiber-shaped hepatic tissues using microfluidics for in vitro tissue assembly. These tissues enable macroscopic tissue construction, paving the way for organoid development for therapeutic applications.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Tissue Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Developing functional in vitro tissues is crucial for drug screening and disease modeling.
- Current methods for macroscopic tissue assembly face challenges in achieving vascularization and structural integrity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate microfiber-shaped hepatic tissues for macroscopic tissue assembly.
- To optimize coculture conditions for Hep-G2 cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).
- To construct macroscopic tissues using these microfibers as building blocks.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of microfiber-shaped hepatic tissues using a double coaxial microfluidic device.
- Coculture of Hep-G2 cells and HUVECs with optimization of core thickness and cell ratio.
- Assembly of parallel and reeled macroscopic tissues.
- Assessment of HUVEC network formation and inter-tissue connectivity.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated microfiber-shaped hepatic tissues containing cocultured Hep-G2 cells and HUVECs.
- Optimized coculture conditions led to the formation of HUVEC networks within 3 days.
- Macroscopic tissues (parallel and reeled) were constructed, demonstrating HUVEC network connection across adjacent microfibers after enzymatic removal of the calcium alginate shell.
Conclusions:
- The developed microfiber-shaped hepatic tissue serves as a versatile building block for macroscopic tissue engineering.
- This approach facilitates the creation of complex, vascularized tissues for potential organoid development.
- The method holds promise for generating tissues mimicking major organs for therapeutic applications in critically ill patients.
