Abstract

Tissue engineering is an essential component of developing effective regenerative therapies. Here, we introduce a promising method to create scaffold-free three dimensional (3D) tissue engineered multi-layered microstructures from cultured cells using the "3D tissue fabrication system" (Regenova®, Cyfuse, Japan). This technique utilizes the adhesive nature of cells. When cells are cultured in non-adhesive wells, they tend to aggregateand form a spheroidal structure. The advantage of this approach is that cellular components can be mixed into one spheroid, thereby promoting the formation of extracellular matrices, such as collagen and elastin. This system enables one to create a pre-designed 3D structure composed of cultured cells. We found the advantages of this system to be: (1) the length, size, and shape of the structure were designable and highly reproducible because of the computer controlled robotics system, (2) the graftable structure could be created within a reasonable period (8 days), and (3) the constructed tissue did not contain any foreign material, which may avoid the potential issues ofcontamination, biotoxicity, and allergy. The utilization of this robotic system enabled thecreation of a 3D multi-layered microstructure made of cell based spheres with a satisfactory mechanical properties and abundant extracellular matrix during a short period of time. These results suggest that this new technology will represent a promising, attractive, and practical strategy in the field of tissue engineering.

View details for DOI 10.1089/ten.TEA.2019.0313

View details for PubMedID 32085692