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3D Bioprinted Vascularized Tumour for Drug Testing.
Seokgyu Han1, Sein Kim2, Zhenzhong Chen1
1School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|April 29, 2020
Summary
Bioprinting creates a tumor microenvironment (TME) with blood vessels and controllable size. This 3D model accurately predicts anti-cancer drug efficacy, improving in vitro cancer research.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cancer Research
- Drug Discovery
Background:
- In vitro drug screening lacks tumor microenvironment (TME) complexity.
- Accurate drug response requires controlled tumor size and vascularization.
- Current models fail to fully replicate in vivo tumor conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a bioprinting method for recapitulating the TME.
- To create a controllable multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) model.
- To assess the efficacy of combined anti-cancer drug treatment in a bioprinted TME.
Main Methods:
- Bioprinting a blood vessel layer using fibroblasts and endothelial cells in a hydrogel.
- Seeding glioblastoma (U87 MG) MCTSs onto the vascularized layer.
- Evaluating drug response to temozolomide (TMZ) and sunitinib in the bioprinted TME.
Main Results:
- Vascular sprouts grew from the engineered blood vessel layer, surrounding MCTSs.
- Tumor spheroid size increased due to vascularization.
- Combined TMZ and sunitinib treatment showed enhanced efficacy compared to TMZ alone in vascularized tumors.
Conclusions:
- The bioprinted TME model successfully mimics tumor vascularization and growth.
- This 3D model provides a feasible platform for in vitro anti-cancer drug efficacy testing.
- The bioprinted vascularized tumor is valuable for studying tumor biology and drug development.
