Bioprinting is an emerging approach for constructing sophisticated tissue analogues with detailed architectures such as vascular networks, which requires bioink to fulfill the highly printable property and provide a cell-friendly microenvironment mimicking a native extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we developed a human placental ECM-derived bioink (hp-bioink) meeting the requirements of 3D printing for printability and bioactivity. We first decellularized the human placenta, followed by enzymatic digestion, dialysis, lyophilization, and re-solubilization to convert the extracts into hp-bioink. Then, we demonstrated that 3%-5% of hp-bioink can be printed with self-standing and 1%-2% of hp-bioink can be embedded and printed within suspended hydrogels. Moreover, hp-bioink supports human umbilical vein endothelial cell assemblyin vitroand angiogenesis in micein vivo. Our research enriches the bank of human-derived bioinks, and provides a new opportunity to further accelerate bioprinting research and application.
Keywords: 3D printing; ECM; angiogenesis; bioink; human placenta.
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