3D bioprinting applications for in vitro modeling of cellular interactions and tissues

Abstract

The article considers different strategies for seeding stem cells and their progeny and construction of new tissues and organs, i.e., artificial biocompatible templates, natural decellularized templates, and generating complex tissues directly from stem cells and matrix materials using bioreactors or 3D-printing. Generally, culturing cells under 3D conditions allows to retain fully morphological and functional integrity of specialized cells as shown with hepatocytes. In particular, a promising approach to 3D organ fabrication is to use special bioprinters to prepare tissue scaffolds. Relevant studies have resulted in the production of organ-like cellular complexes, for example tubular/glomerular kidney structures. There are some technical issues which should be considered in any single case, including type of printing technology, choice of biomatrix type, printing parameters, etc. Microextrusion tenchique and laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) approach are considered as prospective printing technologies. Natural substrates for tissue and organ scaffolds could be obtained by decellularization and subsequent cell seeding, as already shown in animal experiments. Generating 3D tissue models could create promising opportunities for hematopoiesis research in its natural microenvironment.