Page 207 - IJB-10-1

International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Chondrocyte spheroid-laden microporous

hydrogel-based 3D bioprinting for cartilage
regeneration

Ruiquan Liu , Litao Jia , Jianguo Chen ,Yi Long , Jinshi Zeng , Siyu Liu , Bo Pan ,
1
2
1
3
1
2
1
Xia Liu *, and Haiyue Jiang *
2
1
1 Department of Auricular Reconstruction, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical
Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100144, China
2 Research Center of Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking
Union Medical College, Beijing 100144, China
3
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life
Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, China
Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has brought new promising strategies for the
regeneration of cartilage with specific shapes. In cartilage bioprinting, chondrocyte-
laden hydrogels are the most commonly used bioinks. However, the dispersion of cells
and the dense texture of the hydrogel in the conventional bioink may limit cell–cell/
cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions, counting against cartilage regeneration
and maturation. To address this issue, in this study, we developed a functional bioink
for cartilage bioprinting based on chondrocyte spheroids (CSs) and microporous
*Corresponding authors: hydrogels, in which CSs as multicellular aggregates can provide extensive cell–
Haiyue Jiang
(jianghaiyue@psh.pumc.edu.cn) cell/cell–ECM interactions to mimic the natural cartilage microenvironment, and
Xia Liu microporous hydrogels can provide space and channel for the growth and fusion of the
(liuxia@psh.pumc.edu.cn) CSs. Firstly, we used a non-adhesive microporous system to produce homogeneous
Citation: Liu R, Jia L, Chen J, self-assembled CSs in high-throughput and evaluated the influence of different CSs
et al., Chondrocyte spheroid- preparation parameters (cell number and culture time) on CSs, which aids in the
laden microporous hydrogel- preparation of bioink suitable for cartilage bioprinting. Then, polyethylene oxide (PEO)
based 3D bioprinting for cartilage
regeneration. Int J Bioprint. was introduced into gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) to prepare microporous hydrogel.
2024;10(1):0161. Finally, the CS-laden microporous hydrogels were printed, and the constructs were
doi: 10.36922/ijb.0161 implanted into nude mice. The results showed that the CSs with 500 cells cultured
Received: May 11, 2023 for 1 day exhibited better proliferation and growth ability in microporous hydrogels
Accepted: June 14, 2023 compared to those with more cells and cultured for longer time. In addition, the
Published Online: July 28, 2023
results also demonstrated that the CS-laden bioink can be successfully printed into
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). predefined lattice-shape constructs with little cell damage and regenerated cartilage
This is an Open Access article tissue in vivo with a structure similar to natural cartilage characterized by typical
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution lacunae structure and abundant cartilage-specific ECM deposition. In summary, our
License, permitting distribution, study verified the feasibility and advantages of using CSs as building blocks in cartilage
and reproduction in any medium, bioprinting, which provides novel strategies for the fabrication and regeneration of
provided the original work is
properly cited. patient-specific shaped cartilage.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Keywords: 3D bioprinting; Chondrocyte spheroids; Microporous hydrogels;
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Cartilage regeneration
affiliations.

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 199 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.0161