Page 168 - IJB-10-1

International

Journal of Bioprinting

3D-bioprinted cell-laden hydrogel with anti-

inflammatory and anti-bacterial activities for
tracheal cartilage regeneration and restoration

Pengli Wang , Tao Wang , Yong Xu *, Nan Song *, and Xue Zhang *
1
1
2
1†
1†
1 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of
Medicine, Shanghai 200430, China
2 Dermatology Center, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai
200092, China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in 3D bioprinting for regenerative medicine and
drug screening)
Abstract

Despite the notable advances in tissue-engineered tracheal cartilage (TETC),
there remain several challenges that need to be addressed, such as uneven cell
distribution for cartilage formation, customized C-shaped tracheal morphology, local
inflammatory reactions, and infections. To overcome these challenges, this study
† These authors contributed equally
to this work. proposed the addition of icariin (ICA) and chitosan (CS) into a gelatin methacryloyl
(GelMA) hydrogel to develop a new ICA/CS/GelMA hydrogel with anti-inflammatory
*Corresponding authors:
Yong Xu and anti-bacterial properties, and three-dimensional (3D)-bioprinting feasibility. The
(xuyong@tongji.edu.cn) aim of this study was to construct a TETC, a customized C-shaped cartilage structure,
Nan Song with uniform chondrocyte distribution as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial
(songnan@tongji.edu.cn) functions. Our results confirmed that ICA/CS/GelMA hydrogel provides desirable
Xue Zhang rheological properties, suitable printability, favorable biocompatibility, and simulated
(xuezhang@shsmu.edu.cn) microenvironments for chondrogenesis. Moreover, the addition of ICA stimulated
Citation: Wang P, Wang T, Xu Y, chondrocyte proliferation, extracellular matrix synthesis, and anti-inflammatory
Song N, Zhang X. 3D-bioprinted ability, while the encapsulation of CS enhanced the hydrogels’ anti-bacterial ability. All
cell-laden hydrogel with anti-
inflammatory and anti-bacterial these led to the formation of an enhanced TETC after submuscular implantation and an
activities for tracheal cartilage elevated survival rate of experimental rabbits after orthotopic tracheal transplantation.
regeneration and restoration. This study provides a reliable cell-laden hydrogel with anti-inflammatory and anti-
Int J Bioprint. 2024;10(1):0146.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.0146 bacterial activities, suitable printability, and significant advancements in in vivo
cartilage regeneration and in situ tracheal cartilage restoration.
Received: April 27, 2023
Accepted: May 28, 2023
Published Online: July 13, 2023
Keywords: 3D bioprinting; Anti-inflammation; Anti-bacteria; Cartilage regeneration;
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). Tracheal restoration
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, 1. Introduction
provided the original work is
properly cited. Recently, various novel strategies, including intact cartilaginous tubes, assembled tubes
1,2
6
3-5
Publisher’s Note: AccScience with interrupted O-shaped, and C-shaped cartilaginous rings, have been explored
Publishing remains neutral with extensively to construct tissue-engineered tracheal cartilage (TETC) to repair long-
regard to jurisdictional claims in segmental tracheal defects. However, tracheal cartilage regeneration and restoration still
published maps and institutional
affiliations. face numerous challenges that need to be addressed, such as uneven cell distribution

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 160 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.0146