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Malkani S, Prado O, Stevens KR. Sacrificial Templating for Accelerating Clinical Translation of Engineered Organs. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2024. [PMID: 39701582 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c01824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2024]
Abstract
Transplantable engineered organs could one day be used to treat patients suffering from end-stage organ failure. Yet, producing hierarchical vascular networks that sustain the viability and function of cells within human-scale organs remains a major challenge. Sacrificial templating has emerged as a promising biofabrication method that could overcome this challenge. Here, we explore and evaluate various strategies and materials that have been used for sacrificial templating. First, we emphasize fabrication approaches that use highly biocompatible sacrificial reagents and minimize the duration that cells spend in fabrication conditions without oxygen and nutrients. We then discuss strategies to create continuous, hierarchical vascular networks, both using biofabrication alone and using hybrid methods that integrate biologically driven vascular self-assembly into sacrificial templating workflows. Finally, we address the importance of structurally reinforcing engineered vessel walls to achieve stable blood flow in vivo, so that engineered organs remain perfused and functional long after implantation. Together, these sacrificial templating strategies have the potential to overcome many current limitations in biofabrication and accelerate clinical translation of transplantable, fully functional engineered organs to rescue patients from organ failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherina Malkani
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Olivia Prado
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Kelly R Stevens
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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Alkazemi H, Mitchell GM, Lokmic-Tomkins Z, Heath DE, O'Connor AJ. Hierarchically vascularized and suturable tissue constructs created through angiogenesis from tissue-engineered vascular grafts. Acta Biomater 2024; 189:168-178. [PMID: 39368723 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2024.09.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2024] [Revised: 09/01/2024] [Accepted: 09/26/2024] [Indexed: 10/07/2024]
Abstract
A major roadblock in implementing engineered tissues clinically lies in their limited vascularization. After implantation, such tissues do not integrate with the host's circulation as quickly as needed, commonly resulting in loss of viability and functionality. This study presents a solution to the vascularization problem that could enable the survival and function of large, transplantable, and vascularized engineered tissues. The technique allows vascularization of a cell laden hydrogel through angiogenesis from a suturable tissue-engineered vascular graft (TEVG) constructed from electrospun polycaprolactone with macropores. The graft is surrounded by a layer of cell-laden gelatin-methacryloyl hydrogel. The constructs are suturable and possess mechanical properties like native vessels. Angiogenesis occurs through the pores in the graft, resulting in a hydrogel containing an extensive vascular network that is connected to an implantable TEVG. The size of the engineered tissue and the degree of vascularization can be increased by adding multiple TEVGs into a single construct. The engineered tissue has the potential to be immediately perfused by the patient's blood upon surgical anastomosis to host vessels, enabling survival of implanted cells. These findings provide a meaningful step to address the longstanding problem of fabricating suturable pre-vascularized tissues which could survive upon implantation in vivo. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Creating vascularized engineered tissues that can be transplanted and rapidly perfused by the host blood supply is a major challenge which has limited the clinical impact of tissue engineering. In this study we demonstrate a technique to fabricate vascularized tissue constructs via angiogenesis from a suturable tissue-engineered vascular graft. The macroporous graft is surrounded with hydrogel, allowing endothelial cells to migrate from the lumen and vascularize the hydrogel layer with capillary-like structures connected to the macrovessel. The graft has comparable mechanical properties to native blood vessels and larger constructs can be fabricated by incorporating multiple grafts. These constructs could potentially be connected surgically to the circulation at an implantation site to support their immediate perfusion and survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazem Alkazemi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graeme Clark Institute, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Geraldine M Mitchell
- O'Brien Institute Department of Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Victoria 3065, Australia; Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Victoria 3065, Australia; Department of Surgery at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, University of Melbourne, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia
| | | | - Daniel E Heath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graeme Clark Institute, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Andrea J O'Connor
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graeme Clark Institute, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD), Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia.
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Chalard AE, Porritt H, Lam Po Tang EJ, Taberner AJ, Winbo A, Ahmad AM, Fitremann J, Malmström J. Dynamic composite hydrogels of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) with supramolecular fibers for tissue engineering applications. BIOMATERIALS ADVANCES 2024; 163:213957. [PMID: 39024864 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioadv.2024.213957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
In the field of tissue engineering, there is a growing need for biomaterials with structural properties that replicate the native characteristics of the extracellular matrix (ECM). It is important to include fibrous structures into ECM mimics, especially when constructing scar models. Additionally, including a dynamic aspect to cell-laden biomaterials is particularly interesting, since native ECM is constantly reshaped by cells. Composite hydrogels are developed to bring different combinations of structures and properties to a scaffold by using different types and sources of materials. In this work, we aimed to combine gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) with biocompatible supramolecular fibers made of a small self-assembling sugar-derived molecule (N-heptyl-D-galactonamide, GalC7). The GalC7 fibers were directly grown in the GelMA through a thermal process, and it was shown that the presence of the fibrous network increased the Young's modulus of GelMA. Due to the non-covalent interactions that govern the self-assembly, these fibers were observed to dissolve over time, leading to a dynamic softening of the composite gels. Cardiac fibroblast cells were successfully encapsulated into composite gels for 7 days, showing excellent biocompatibility and fibroblasts extending in an elongated morphology, most likely in the channels left by the fibers after their degradation. These novel composite hydrogels present unique properties and could be used as tools to study biological processes such as fibrosis, vascularization and invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anaïs E Chalard
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Harrison Porritt
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Emily J Lam Po Tang
- The Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI), The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Andrew J Taberner
- The Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI), The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; Department of Engineering Science and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Annika Winbo
- Department of Physiology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; Manaaki Manawa Centre for Heart Research, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Amatul M Ahmad
- Department of Physiology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Juliette Fitremann
- Laboratoire Softmat, Université de Toulouse, CNRS UMR 5623, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Jenny Malmström
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington, New Zealand.
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Bal Z, Takakura N. Hydrogel Use in Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head. Gels 2024; 10:544. [PMID: 39195073 DOI: 10.3390/gels10080544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2024] [Revised: 07/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/20/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a vascular disease of unknown etiology and can be categorized mainly into two types: non-traumatic and traumatic ONFH. Thus, understanding osteogenic-angiogenic coupling is of prime importance in finding a solution for the treatment of ONFH. Hydrogels are biomaterials that are similar to the extracellular matrix (ECM). As they are able to mimic real tissue, they meet one of the most important rules in tissue engineering. In ONFH studies, hydrogels have recently become popular because of their ability to retain water and their adjustable properties, injectability, and mimicry of natural ECM. Because bone regeneration and graft materials are very broad areas of research and ONFH is a complex situation including bone and vascular systems, and there is no settled treatment strategy for ONFH worldwide, in this review paper, we followed a top-down approach by reviewing (1) bone and bone grafting, (2) hydrogels, (3) vascular systems, and (4) ONFH and hydrogel use in ONFH with studies in the literature which show promising results in limited clinical studies. The aim of this review paper is to provide the reader with general information on every aspect of ONFH and to focus on the hydrogel used in ONFH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeynep Bal
- Laboratory of Signal Transduction, WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center (WPI-IFReC), Osaka University, 3-1 Yamada-oka, Suita 565-0871, Osaka, Japan
- Department of Signal Transduction, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases (RIMD), Osaka University, 3-1 Yamada-oka, Suita 565-0871, Osaka, Japan
| | - Nobuyuki Takakura
- Laboratory of Signal Transduction, WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center (WPI-IFReC), Osaka University, 3-1 Yamada-oka, Suita 565-0871, Osaka, Japan
- Department of Signal Transduction, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases (RIMD), Osaka University, 3-1 Yamada-oka, Suita 565-0871, Osaka, Japan
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Peng Y, Liang S, Meng QF, Liu D, Ma K, Zhou M, Yun K, Rao L, Wang Z. Engineered Bio-Based Hydrogels for Cancer Immunotherapy. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2313188. [PMID: 38362813 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202313188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Immunotherapy represents a revolutionary paradigm in cancer management, showcasing its potential to impede tumor metastasis and recurrence. Nonetheless, challenges including limited therapeutic efficacy and severe immune-related side effects are frequently encountered, especially in solid tumors. Hydrogels, a class of versatile materials featuring well-hydrated structures widely used in biomedicine, offer a promising platform for encapsulating and releasing small molecule drugs, biomacromolecules, and cells in a controlled manner. Immunomodulatory hydrogels present a unique capability for augmenting immune activation and mitigating systemic toxicity through encapsulation of multiple components and localized administration. Notably, hydrogels based on biopolymers have gained significant interest owing to their biocompatibility, environmental friendliness, and ease of production. This review delves into the recent advances in bio-based hydrogels in cancer immunotherapy and synergistic combinatorial approaches, highlighting their diverse applications. It is anticipated that this review will guide the rational design of hydrogels in the field of cancer immunotherapy, fostering clinical translation and ultimately benefiting patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxuan Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technology and Novel Formulation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Shuang Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technology and Novel Formulation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Qian-Fang Meng
- Institute of Biomedical Health Technology and Engineering, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518132, China
| | - Dan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technology and Novel Formulation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Kongshuo Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technology and Novel Formulation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Mengli Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technology and Novel Formulation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Kaiqing Yun
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technology and Novel Formulation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Lang Rao
- Institute of Biomedical Health Technology and Engineering, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518132, China
| | - Zhaohui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technology and Novel Formulation, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
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