Page 94 - IJB-10-3

International

Journal of Bioprinting

REVIEW ARTICLE
Vascularization strategies for human skin tissue

engineering via 3D bioprinting

Arvind Kumar Shukla , Dongjun Lee , Sik Yoon , Minjun Ahn *, and
3,4
5
2
1
Byoung Soo Kim *
1,5
1 School of Biomedical Convergence Engineering, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Republic
of Korea
2 Department of Convergence Medicine, Pusan National University College of Medicine, Yangsan,
Republic of Korea
3
Department of Anatomy and Convergence Medical Sciences, Pusan National University College
of Medicine, Yangsan, Republic of Korea
4 Immune Reconstitution Research Center of Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University
College of Medicine, Yangsan, Republic of Korea
5 Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Republic of Korea
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: 3D Printing for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine)

Abstract

The skin is composed of many cells that are organized into different layers and
connected by dense and complex vascular networks. This creates a dynamic
microenvironment in which cells interact within the matrix. Significant advancements
have been made in this field over the past decade, and various strategies have been
developed for accelerating and enhancing skin regeneration. The primary challenge for
successful skin grafts is the integration of the functional vasculature, which can supply
essential nutrients and oxygen to cell-laden structures and damaged native tissues.
An inadequate vascular network can lead to ischemia, which can cause slow wound
*Corresponding authors:
Minjun Ahn (mjahn@pusan.ac.kr) healing—particularly in the case of chronic skin conditions. Therefore, blood vessel
Byoung Soo Kim formation remains one of the most significant obstacles that skin tissue engineering
(bskim7@pusan.ac.kr) must overcome to create vascularized skin tissue substitutes with specific living cells.
Technological advances can augment effective vascularization. The three-dimensional
Citation: Shukla AK, Lee D, Yoon
S, Ahn M, Kim BS. Vascularization (3D) bioprinting platform is a promising technology that allows precise deposition of
strategies for human skin tissue living cells and bioactive materials. The application of this technology to skin tissue
engineering via 3D bioprinting. engineering can provide solutions for augmenting pre-vascularization in engineered
Int J Bioprint. 2024;10(3):1727.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.1727 in vitro skin models and in vivo skin substitutes. This review presents the significance of
skin vascularization in in vitro modeling and in vivo wound healing. Various strategies
Received: August 31, 2023
Accepted: November 20, 2023 and related applications involving 3D bioprinting technology are introduced for
Published Online: January 28, 2024 the biofabrication of enhanced vascularized skin in vitro and in vivo, followed by a
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). discussion of their limitations and future research directions.
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Vascularization; Angiogenesis; Human skin; Biofabrication;
License, permitting distribution, 3D bioprinting; Regenerative medicine
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional The skin accounts for 15% of an individual’s total body weight and covers an area
1,2
2
affiliations. of 1.8 m . It is the largest organ in the body and has several essential functions.
Volume 10 Issue 3 (2024) 86 doi: 10.36922/ijb.1727