Long ‐term in vivo integrity and safety of 3D‐bioprinted cartilaginous constructs

AbstractLong ‐term stability and biological safety are crucial for translation of 3D‐bioprinting technology into clinical applications. Here, we addressed the long‐term safety and stability issues associated with 3D‐bioprinted constructs comprising a cellulose scaffold and human cells (chondrocytes and s tem cells) over a period of 10 months in nude mice. Our findings showed that increasing unconfined compression strength over time significantly improved the mechanical stability of the cell‐containing constructs relative to cell‐free scaffolds. Additionally, the cell‐free constructs exhibited a mean compressive stress and stiffness (compressive modulus) of 0.04 ± 0.05 MPa and 0.14 ± 0.18 MPa, respectively, whereas these values for the cell‐containing constructs were 0.11 ± 0.08 MPa (p = .019) and 0.53  ± 0.59 MPa (p = .012), respectively. Moreover, histomorphologic analysis revealed that cartilage formed from the cell ‐containing constructs harbored an abundance of proliferating chondrocytes in clusters, and after 10 months, resembled native cartilage. Furthermore, extension of the experiment over the complete lifecycle of the animal model revealed no signs of ossification, fibrosis, necrosis, or implant‐rela ted tumor development in the 3D‐bioprinted constructs. These findings confirm the in vivo biological safety and mechanical stability of 3D‐bioprinted cartilaginous tissues and support their potential translation into cl...

Source: Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials - July 5, 2020 Category: Materials Science Authors: Peter Apelgren, Matteo Amoroso, Karin S äljö, Anders Lindahl, Camilla Brantsing, Linnéa Stridh Orrhult, Kajsa Markstedt, Paul Gatenholm, Lars Kölby Tags: ORIGINAL RESEARCH REPORT Source Type: research