Matching mechanical heterogeneity of the native spinal cord augments axon infiltration in 3D-printed scaffolds

Tran, Kiet A.; DeOre, Brandon J.; Ikejiani, David; Means, Kristen; Paone, Louis S.; Marchi, Laura; Suprewicz, Łukasz; Koziol, Katarina; Bouyer, Julien; Byfield, Fitzroy J.; Jin, Ying; Georges, Penelope C.; Fischer, Itzhak; Janmey, Paul A.; Galie, Peter A.

doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122061

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 68 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Laser-assisted bioprinting may be used to produce complex structures with high resolution [84,85], but the bioink is limited to photo-crosslinkable materials and may be more hazardous than the other two approaches [86]. Other less commonly used technologies such as stereolithography have also been reported [49]. The most commonly utilized scaffold printing method for SCI is extrusion bioprinting.…”

Section: Printing Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gray and white matter in the spinal cord exhibit varied microscopic composition and mechanical properties due to changes in cell type, ECM composition, and laminin expression. Gray matter is mechanically tougher and more viscoelastic than white matter, allowing it to regulate movement and feeling, while white matter is responsible for information transmission [49]. The rigidity of ECM is important in regulating development, homeostasis, regenerative processes, and disease progression.…”

Section: Mechanical Customizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scaffolds used to stimulate axonal connections in the wounded spinal cord should aim to match native tissue anisotropy and supply varied guidance cues along the head-caudal axis, but traditional fabrication approaches struggle to provide these features. 3D bioprinting technology can employ multiple print heads to accurately simulate changes in the structural and mechanical characteristics of gray and white matter by varying the material type, material concentration, and crosslinking intensity along the length of the scaffold [49,61,62] (figures 2(C) and (D)). These heterogeneous scaffolds can more accurately imitate the anisotropic properties of the spinal cord, thereby enhancing neural network regeneration and functional recovery following SCI [63].…”

Section: Mechanical Customizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may allow the regenerated tissue to break through scar tissue and connect nerve cells at both ends of the injury [100,101], resulting in a more regular repaired structure consisting of aligned nerve fibers [102][103][104]. Cylindrical scaffolds may also be printed to have variations in cross-sectional mechanical properties, which may more realistically simulate the native mechanical differences between gray and white matter in the spinal cord, for instance by having a higher elastic modulus at the scaffold core compared to the periphery [49,105,106]. On a similar note, the specific patterning of cell types and biomaterials in the cylindrical scaffold cross-section may help to improve spinal cord functional recovery.…”

Section: Scaffold Shapementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

3D bioprinting approaches for spinal cord injury repair

Jiu,

Liu,

et al. 2024

Biofabrication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Regenerative healing of spinal cord injury poses an ongoing medical challenge by causing persistent neurological impairment and a significant socioeconomic burden. The complexity of spinal cord tissue presents hurdles to successful regeneration following injury, due to the difficulty of forming a biomimetic structure that faithfully replicates native tissue using conventional tissue engineering scaffolds. 3D bioprinting is a rapidly evolving technology with unmatched potential to create 3D biological tissues with complicated and hierarchical structure and composition. With the addition of biological additives such as cells and biomolecules, 3D bioprinting can fabricate preclinical implants, tissue or organ-like constructs, and in vitro models through precise control over the deposition of biomaterials and other building blocks. This review highlights the characteristics and advantages of 3D bioprinting for scaffold fabrication to enable spinal cord injury repair, including bottom-up manufacturing, mechanical customization, and spatial heterogeneity. This review also critically discusses the impact of various fabrication parameters on the efficacy of spinal cord repair using 3D bioprinted scaffolds, including the choice of printing method, scaffold shape, biomaterials, and biological supplements such as cells and growth factors. High-quality preclinical studies are required to accelerate the translation of 3D bioprinting into clinical practice for spinal cord repair. Meanwhile, other technological advances will continue to improve the regenerative capability of bioprinted scaffolds, such as the incorporation of nanoscale biological particles and the development of 4D printing.

show abstract

Section: Printing Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mechanical Customizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mechanical Customizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scaffold Shapementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

3D bioprinting approaches for spinal cord injury repair

Jiu,

Liu,

et al. 2024

Biofabrication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A recent study proved that 3D scaffolds matching the mechanical heterogeneity of the native spinal cord augmented axonal infiltration. [ 34 ] Anisotropic scaffolds mimicking the native longitudinal orientation of spinal cord nerve fibers could support and direct axonal growth for neuronal regeneration. [ 35 ] These findings suggest that mechanical heterogeneity is closely associated with neural development and regeneration.…”

Section: Physical Microenvironment In Neurogenesis Neurodevelopment A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering the Physical Microenvironment into Neural Organoids for Neurogenesis and Neurodevelopment

Li,

Sun,

Hou

et al. 2023

Small

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the signals from the physical microenvironment is critical for deciphering the processes of neurogenesis and neurodevelopment. The discovery of how surrounding physical signals shape human developing neurons is hindered by the bottleneck of conventional cell culture and animal models. Notwithstanding neural organoids provide a promising platform for recapitulating human neurogenesis and neurodevelopment, building neuronal physical microenvironment that accurately mimics the native neurophysical features is largely ignored in current organoid technologies. Here, it is discussed how the physical microenvironment modulates critical events during the periods of neurogenesis and neurodevelopment, such as neural stem cell fates, neural tube closure, neuronal migration, axonal guidance, optic cup formation, and cortical folding. Although animal models are widely used to investigate the impacts of physical factors on neurodevelopment and neuropathy, the important roles of human stem cell‐derived neural organoids in this field are particularly highlighted. Considering the great promise of human organoids, building neural organoid microenvironments with mechanical forces, electrophysiological microsystems, and light manipulation will help to fully understand the physical cues in neurodevelopmental processes. Neural organoids combined with cutting‐edge techniques, such as advanced atomic force microscopes, microrobots, and structural color biomaterials might promote the development of neural organoid‐based research and neuroscience.

show abstract