Page 348 - IJB-10-5

International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
3D bioprinting of colon organoids in ultrashort

self-assembling and decorated peptide matrices

Jiayi Xu 1,2† id , Rosario Pérez-Pedroza 1,2† id , Manola Moretti 1,2,3 id ,
Dana Alhattab 1,2 id , Alexander Valle-Pérez 1,2 id , Jezabel García-Parra 1,2 id ,
Antonio Cárdenas-Calvario 1,2 id , Diana Eveline Sanchez-Amador 1,2 id ,
*
and Charlotte A. E. Hauser 1,2,3 id
1 Laboratory for Nanomedicine, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE)
Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
2 Computational Bioscience Research Center, BESE, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
3 Red Sea Research Center, BESE, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

Abstract
Research into bioinks for organoid culture has the potential to revolutionize our
understanding of organ development, function, and disease. Organoids are three-
dimensional (3D) cultures of source tissue grown in a support matrix and specialized
media. However, the use of animal-derived matrices has limited the potential of
† These authors contributed equally
to this work. organoids in research and therapy. To overcome this limitation, researchers have
turned to biofunctional synthetic hydrogel networks to reproduce parameters
*Corresponding author:
Charlotte A. E. Hauser that govern organoid formation. This study aims to investigate RGD- and YIGSR-
(charlotte.hauser@age.mpg.de) decorated ultrashort self-assembling peptides as a modular synthetic hydrogel for
Citation: Xu J, Pérez-Pedroza R, organoid culture and 3D bioprinting. Using these motifs, we derived fibronectin
Moretti M, et al. 3D bioprinting of (FIB)- and laminin (LAM)-decorated peptides, which self-assemble into nanofibrous
colon organoids in ultrashort self- hydrogels. We assessed the physicochemical properties of various peptide mixtures.
assembling and decorated
peptide matrices. Our findings confirmed the biocompatibility of these formulations and their
Int J Bioprint. 2024;10(5):3033. organoid-forming potential. Subsequently, we identified the most effective scaffolds
doi: 10.36922/ijb.3033 for organoid formation. We assessed the polarity, differentiation, and functionality
Received: February 27, 2024 of organoids cultured within these scaffolds. We also characterized the properties
Accepted: May 11, 2024 of a bioprinted construct. This study identifies two formulations, FIB (low) and LAM
Published Online: August 16, 2024 (high), that favor cell polarization within the cultured organoids as early as day 4.
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). Moreover, these scaffolds were able to induce a gene expression profile resembling
This is an Open Access article the organoids cultured in Matrigel. These peptides were also demonstrated to
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution be suitable for bioprinting at various concentrations without compromising cell
License, permitting distribution, viability. Overall, this study demonstrates the promise of modular RGD- and YIGSR-
and reproduction in any medium, decorated ultrashort self-assembling peptides as effective synthetic hydrogels for
provided the original work is
properly cited. organoid culture and 3D bioprinting. These biofunctional peptides provide scaffold
effectiveness for advanced organoid manipulation.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Keywords: 3D bioprinting; Colorectal organoid; Scaffold; Biofunctional
affiliations. self-assembling peptides; Laminin; Fibronectin

Volume 10 Issue 5 (2024) 340 doi: 10.36922/ijb.3033