Page 224 - IJB-9-3

International Journal of Bioprinting

REVIEW ARTICLE
3D printing of biomaterials for vascularized and

innervated tissue regeneration

Hongjian Zhang , Chengtie Wu *
1,2
1,2
1 State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai
Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
2 Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: 3D Printing in tissue engineering)

Abstract
Neurovascular networks play significant roles in the metabolism and regeneration
of many tissues and organs in the human body. Blood vessels can transport
sufficient oxygen, nutrients, and biological factors, while nerve fibers transmit
excitation signals to targeted cells. However, traditional scaffolds cannot satisfy the
requirement of stimulating angiogenesis and innervation in a timely manner due to
the complexity of host neurovascular networks. Three-dimensional (3D) printing, as
a versatile and favorable technique, provides an effective approach to fabricating
biological scaffolds with biomimetic architectures and multimaterial compositions,
which are capable of regulating multiple cell behaviors. This review paper presents
a summary of the current progress in 3D-printed biomaterials for vascularized and
innervated tissue regeneration by presenting skin, bone, and skeletal muscle tissues
as an example. In addition, we highlight the crucial roles of blood vessels and nerve
fibers in the process of tissue regeneration and discuss the future perspectives for
engineering novel biomaterials. It is expected that 3D-printed biomaterials with
*Corresponding author:
Chengtie Wu angiogenesis and innervation properties can not only recapitulate the physiological
(chengtiewu@mail.sic.ac.cn) microenvironment of damaged tissues but also rapidly integrate with host
Citation: Zhang H, Wu C, 2023, neurovascular networks, resulting in accelerated functional tissue regeneration.
3D printing of biomaterials for
vascularized and innervated tissue
regeneration. Int J Bioprint, Keywords: 3D printing; Biomaterials; Vascularization; Innervation;
9(3): 706. Tissue regeneration
https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.706
Received: September 22, 2022
Accepted: December 06, 2022
Published Online: March 10, 2023 1. Introduction
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article Despite the remarkable progresses in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering in
distributed under the terms of the the past few decades, the treatment of large tissue defects caused by diseases, traumas,
Creative Commons Attribution and surgery still remains a huge challenge [1-3] . The main reason for the failure of tissue
License, permitting distribution
and reproduction in any medium, engineering scaffolds is attributed to the impaired or delayed integration with host
provided the original work is system [4-6] . Unsatisfactory integration is always associated with the formation of fibrous
properly cited. tissue and long-term inflammatory response, resulting in failed tissue repair. Hence, the
Publisher’s Note: Whioce transplantation of autografts is still considered the gold standard in clinical practice,
Publishing remains neutral with but it is limited by the shortage of donor sites and secondary damages [1,6] . From these
regard to jurisdictional claims in perspectives, innovative tissue-engineering scaffolds with rapid host integration capacity
published maps and institutional
affiliations. are urgently needed for tissue regeneration.

Volume 9 Issue 3 (2023) 216 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.706