Recent advances in bioprinting technologies for engineering hepatic tissue

Tarun Agarwal; Dishary Banerjee; Rocktotpal Konwarh; Timothy Esworthy; Jyoti Kumari; Valentina Onesto; Prativa Das; Bae Hoon Lee; Frank A D T G Wagener; Pooyan Makvandi; Virgilio Mattoli; Sudip Kumar Ghosh; Tapas Kumar Maiti; Lijie Grace Zhang; Ibrahim T Ozbolat

doi:10.1016/j.msec.2021.112013

Recent advances in bioprinting technologies for engineering hepatic tissue

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2021 Apr:123:112013. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2021.112013. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India.
² Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics Department, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
³ Division of Nanobiomaterials and Nanomedicine, Uniglobe Scientific Pvt. Ltd., 7/9, Kishan Garh, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070, India.
⁴ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
⁵ Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Dentistry, Section of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Biology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
⁶ Institute of Nanotechnology, National Research Council (CNR-NANOTEC), Campus Ecotekne, via Monteroni, Lecce 73100, Italy.
⁷ NTU-Northwestern Institute of Nanomedicine (IGS-NNIN), Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
⁸ Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325001, China.
⁹ Department of Dentistry, Section of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Biology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
¹⁰ Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Centre for Materials Interface, viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Pisa, Italy.
¹¹ Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India. Electronic address: tkmaiti@hijli.iitkgp.ernet.in.
¹² Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. Electronic address: lgzhang@email.gwu.edu.
¹³ Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics Department, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Biomedical Engineering Department, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Materials Research Institute, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. Electronic address: ito1@psu.edu.

PMID: 33812632
DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2021.112013

Abstract

In the sphere of liver tissue engineering (LTE), 3D bioprinting has emerged as an effective technology to mimic the complex in vivo hepatic microenvironment, enabling the development of functional 3D constructs with potential application in the healthcare and diagnostic sector. This review gears off with a note on the liver's microscopic 3D architecture and pathologies linked to liver injury. The write-up is then directed towards unmasking recent advancements and prospects of bioprinting for recapitulating 3D hepatic structure and function. The article further introduces available stem cell opportunities and different strategies for their directed differentiation towards various hepatic stem cell types, including hepatocytes, hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells, stellate cells, and Kupffer cells. Another thrust of the article is on understanding the dynamic interplay of different hepatic cells with various microenvironmental cues, which is crucial for controlling differentiation, maturation, and maintenance of functional hepatic cell phenotype. On a concluding note, various critical issues and future research direction towards clinical translation of bioprinted hepatic constructs are discussed.

Keywords: Bioprinting; Liver tissue engineering; Microenvironmental cues; Stem cell differentiation.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Bioprinting*
Endothelial Cells
Liver
Printing, Three-Dimensional
Tissue Engineering