Bioprinting the Tumor Microenvironment with an Upgraded Consumer Stereolithographic 3D Printer

A widespread application of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting in basic and translational research requires the accessibility to affordable printers able to produce physiologically relevant tissue models. To facilitate the use of bioprinting as a standard technique in biology, an open-source device based on a consumer-grade 3D stereolithographic (SL) printer was developed. This SL bioprinter can produce complex constructs that preserve cell viability and recapitulate the physiology of tissues. The detailed documentation of the modifications apported to the printer as well as a throughout performance analysis allow for a straightforward adoption of the device in other labs and its customization for specific applications. Given the low cost, several modified bioprinters could be simultaneously operated for a highly parallelized tissue production. To showcase the capability of the bioprinter, we produced constructs consisting of patient-derived cholangiocarcinoma organoids encapsulated in a gelatin methacrylate (GelMA)/polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel. A thorough characterization of different GelMA/PEGDA ratios revealed that the mechanical properties of the bioprinted tumor model can be accurately fine-tuned to mimic a specific tumor micro-environment. Immunofluorescence and gene expression analyses of tumor markers confirmed that the bioprinted synthetic hydrogel provides a flexible and adequate replacement of animal-derived reconstituted extracellular matrix.

Synthetic hydrogel nanoparticles for sepsis therapy

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the extreme release of inflammatory mediators into the blood in response to infection (e.g., bacterial infection, COVID-19), resulting in the dysfunction of multiple organs. Currently, there is no direct treatment for sepsis. Here we report an abiotic hydrogel nanoparticle (HNP) as a potential therapeutic agent for late-stage sepsis. The HNP captures and neutralizes all variants of histones, a major inflammatory mediator released during sepsis. The highly optimized HNP has high capacity and long-term circulation capability for the selective sequestration and neutralization of histones. Intravenous injection of the HNP protects mice against a lethal dose of histones through the inhibition of platelet aggregation and migration into the lungs. In vivo administration in murine sepsis model mice results in near complete survival. These results establish the potential for synthetic, nonbiological polymer hydrogel sequestrants as a new intervention strategy for sepsis therapy and adds to our understanding of the importance of histones to this condition.

A Synthetic Hydrogel, VitroGel® ORGANOID-3, Improves Immune Cell-Epithelial Interactions in a Tissue Chip Co-Culture Model of Human Gastric Organoids and Dendritic Cells

Immunosurveillance of the gastrointestinal epithelium by mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) is essential for maintaining gut health. However, studying the complex interplay between the human gastrointestinal epithelium and MNPs such as dendritic cells (DCs) is difficult, since traditional cell culture systems lack complexity, and animal models may not adequately represent human tissues. Microphysiological systems, or tissue chips, are an attractive alternative for these investigations, because they model functional features of specific tissues or organs using microscale culture platforms that recreate physiological tissue microenvironments. However, successful integration of multiple of tissue types on a tissue chip platform to reproduce physiological cell-cell interactions remains a challenge. We previously developed a tissue chip system, the gut organoid flow chip (GOFlowChip), for long term culture of 3-D pluripotent stem cell-derived human intestinal organoids. Here, we optimized the GOFlowChip platform to build a complex microphysiological immune-cell-epithelial cell co-culture model in order to study DC-epithelial interactions in human stomach. We first tested different tubing materials and chip configurations to optimize DC loading onto the GOFlowChip and demonstrated that DC culture on the GOFlowChip for up to 20 h did not impact DC activation status or viability. However, Transwell chemotaxis assays and live confocal imaging revealed that Matrigel, the extracellular matrix (ECM) material commonly used for organoid culture, prevented DC migration towards the organoids and the establishment of direct MNP-epithelial contacts. Therefore, we next evaluated DC chemotaxis through alternative ECM materials including Matrigel-collagen mixtures and synthetic hydrogels. A polysaccharide-based synthetic hydrogel, VitroGel®-ORGANOID-3 (V-ORG-3), enabled significantly increased DC chemotaxis through the matrix, supported organoid survival and growth, and did not significantly alter DC activation or viability. On the GOFlowChip, DCs that were flowed into the chip migrated rapidly through the V-ORG matrix and reached organoids embedded deep within the chip, with increased interactions between DCs and gastric organoids. The successful integration of DCs and V-ORG-3 embedded gastric organoids into the GOFlowChip platform now permits real-time imaging of MNP-epithelial interactions and other investigations of the complex interplay between gastrointestinal MNPs and epithelial cells in their response to pathogens, candidate drugs and mucosal vaccines.