3D Bioplotter Research Papers

Meniscus is a complex and crucial fibrocartilaginous tissue within the knee joint. Meniscal regeneration remains to be a scientific and translational challenge. We clarified that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) participated in meniscal maturation and regeneration using MSC-tracing transgenic mice model. Here, inspired by meniscal natural maturational and regenerative process, we developed an effective and translational strategy to facilitate meniscal regeneration by three-dimensionally printing biomimetic meniscal scaffold combining autologous synovium transplant, which contained abundant intrinsic MSCs. We verified that this facilitated anisotropic meniscus–like tissue regeneration and protected cartilage from degeneration in large animal model. Mechanistically, the biomechanics and matrix stiffness up-regulated…

3D printing of soft-tissue like cytocompatible single material constructs with appropriate mechanical properties remains a challenge. Hybrid printing technology provides an attractive alternative as it combines a cell-free ink for providing mechanical support with a bioink for housing embedded cells. Several hybrid printed structures have been developed, utilizing thermoplastic polymers such as polycaprolactone as structural support. These thermoplastics demonstrated limited structural integration with the cell-laden components, and this may compromise the overall performance. In this work, a hybrid printing platform is presented using two distinct hydrogel inks that share the same photo-crosslinking chemistry to enable simple fabrication and seamless structural…

Injury of corpus cavernosa results in erectile dysfunction, but its treatment has been very difficult. Here we construct heparin-coated 3D-printed hydrogel scaffolds seeded with hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α)-mutated muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) to develop bioengineered vascularized corpora. HIF-1α-mutated MDSCs significantly secrete various angiogenic factors in MDSCs regardless of hypoxia or normoxia. The biodegradable scaffolds, along with MDSCs, are implanted into corpus cavernosa defects in a rabbit model to show good histocompatibility with no immunological rejection, support vascularized tissue ingrowth, and promote neovascularisation to repair the defects. Evaluation of morphology, intracavernosal pressure, elasticity and shrinkage of repaired cavernous tissue prove that…