3D bioprinting of collagen to rebuild components of the human heart.

A Lee, A R Hudson, D J Shiwarski, J W Tashman, T J Hinton, S Yerneni, J M Bliley, P G Campbell, A W Feinberg

Science (New York, N.Y.) 2019 Aug 02

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Collagen is the primary component of the extracellular matrix in the human body. It has proved challenging to fabricate collagen scaffolds capable of replicating the structure and function of tissues and organs. We present a method to 3D-bioprint collagen using freeform reversible embedding of suspended hydrogels (FRESH) to engineer components of the human heart at various scales, from capillaries to the full organ. Control of pH-driven gelation provides 20-micrometer filament resolution, a porous microstructure that enables rapid cellular infiltration and microvascularization, and mechanical strength for fabrication and perfusion of multiscale vasculature and tri-leaflet valves. We found that FRESH 3D-bioprinted hearts accurately reproduce patient-specific anatomical structure as determined by micro-computed tomography. Cardiac ventricles printed with human cardiomyocytes showed synchronized contractions, directional action potential propagation, and wall thickening up to 14% during peak systole. Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Citation

A Lee, A R Hudson, D J Shiwarski, J W Tashman, T J Hinton, S Yerneni, J M Bliley, P G Campbell, A W Feinberg. 3D bioprinting of collagen to rebuild components of the human heart. Science (New York, N.Y.). 2019 Aug 02;365(6452):482-487