Oct 12, 2016 | By Benedict
Scientists at Harvard have used a 3D bioprinter to 3D print a tubular renal architecture that mimics human kidney function. The research advances the collective goal of 3D printing functional human organs for drug screening, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine.
In recent years, a group of Harvard materials scientists has demonstrated its ability to 3D print tissue constructs made up of several types of living cells patterned alongside a vascular network in an extracellular matrix—one of many techniques currently being used by scientists to “print” tissue structures for various medical and biological applications. The researchers could then scale up these constructs to create thick, vascularized tissue constructs capable of remaining viable for over a month in vitro. The same group of researchers has now taken the project a step further, using similar techniques to create a functional 3D renal architecture containing living human epithelial cells, which line the surface of kidney tubules.
Behind the groundbreaking research is Jennifer A. Lewis, the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and Core Faculty member of Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. After developing the modular Voxel8 Developer’s Kit 3D printer and taking part in a number of 3D printing ventures, Lewis has made a name for herself as one of the most important women in 3D printing. This latest study, which has been published in Scientific Reports, confirms Lewis’ place amongst 3D printing’s elite while advancing the collective effort towards fabricating human organs. “The current work further expands our bioprinting platform to create functional human tissue architectures with both technological and clinical relevance,” Lewis said.
Although other groups of researchers have used 3D printing to advance renal medicine, the Harvard team may have made one of the most importa...
SOURCE: 3ders.org ( go on reading...)
