3D printing could be used to repair cartilage in future, say scientists
Researchers at the Wallenberg Wood Science Centre in Sweden have found a way to produce cartilage tissue using 3D printing, that could one day lead to precisely printed implants being used to repair cartilage damaged by arthritis and other injuries.
Dr Paul Gatenholm and his team of researchers from Sweden presented their findings at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. At the meeting the team talked about how they have found a way to produce cartilage tissue by using 3D bioprinting ink containing human cells and that they have successfully tested it in a mouse model.
“Three-dimensional bioprinting is a disruptive technology and is expected to revolutionise tissue engineering and regenerative medicine,” says Dr Gatenholm. “Our team’s interest is in working with plastic surgeons to create cartilage to repair damage from injuries or cancer. We work with the ear and the nose, which are parts of the body that surgeons today have a hard time repairing. But hopefully, they’ll one day be able to fix them with a 3-D printer and a bioink made out of a patient’s own cells.”
He says his team are tackling the challenge step by step. They had to develop an ink with living cells that would keep its shape after printing. To do this they mixed polysaccharides from brown algae and tiny cellulose fibrils with wood and made by bacteria, as well as human chondrocytes – cells that build up cartilage. Using this mixture, the researchers were able to print living cells in a specific architecture, such as an ear shape, that maintained its form even after printing. The printed cells also produced cartilage in a laboratory dish.
“But under in vitro conditions, we have to change the nutrient-filled liquid that the material sits in every other day and add growth factors,” Gatenholm says. “It’s a very artificial environment.”
So for the next step, Dr Gatenholm’s team had to print tissue samples and implanted them in mice and the cells survived and produced cartilage. To boost the number of cells, the researchers mixed the chondrocytes with human mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow.
Preliminary data from live testing over 60 days show the combination does indeed encourage chondrocyte and cartilage production. However, further preclinical work needs to be done before moving on to human trials.
Katherine Free, research liaison and communications manager for Arthritis Research UK, says, “3D printing has great potential for use in cartilage repair. Researchers at our Tissue Engineering Centre in Newcastle are looking at how to use 3D printing to develop scaffolds to support the growth of stem cells in the joints.
“This has potential to delay the need for joint replacement, or even remove it altogether, which would offer fresh hope for people who struggle with the pain and disability of arthritis.”
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