Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Gruene, Martin
• Pflaum, Michael
• Hess, Christian
• Diamantouros, Stefanos
• Schlie, Sabrina
• Deiwick, Andrea
• Koch, Lothar
• Wilhelmi, Mathias
• Jockenhoevel, Stefan
• Haverich, Axel
• Chichkov, Boris

Titel

Laser printing of three-dimensional multicellular arrays for studies of cell-cell and cell-environment interactions

Ist Teil von

• Tissue engineering. Part C, Methods, 2011-10, Vol.17 (10), p.973

Ort / Verlag

United States

Erscheinungsjahr

2011

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Utilization of living cells for therapies in regenerative medicine requires a fundamental understanding of the interactions between different cells and their environment. Moreover, common models based on adherent two-dimensional cultures are not appropriate to simulate the complex interactions that occur in a three-dimensional (3D) cell-microenvironment in vivo. In this study, we present a computer-aided method for the printing of multiple cell types in a 3D array using laser-assisted bioprinting. By printing spots of human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs), we demonstrate that (i) these cell spots can be arranged layer-by-layer in a 3D array; (ii) any cell-cell ratio, cell quantity, cell-type combination, and spot spacing can be realized within this array; and (iii) the height of the 3D array is freely scalable. As a proof of concept, we printed separate spots of ASCs and ECFCs within a 3D array and observed cell-cell interactions in vascular endothelial growth factor-free medium. It has been demonstrated that direct cell-cell contacts trigger the development of stable vascular-like networks. This method can be applied to study complex and dynamic relationships between cells and their local environment.