Decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) can provide suitable microenvironmental cues to recapitulate the inherent functions of target tissues in an engineered construct. This article elucidates the protocols for the decellularization of pancreatic tissue, evaluation of pancreatic tissue-derived dECM bioink, and generation of 3D pancreatic tissue constructs using a bioprinting technique.
The transplantation of pancreatic islets is a promising treatment for patients who suffer from type 1 diabetes accompanied by hypoglycemia and secondary complications. However, islet transplantation still has several limitations such as the low viability of transplanted islets due to poor islet engraftment and hostile environments. In addition, the insulin-producing cells differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells have limited ability to secrete sufficient hormones that can regulate the blood glucose level; therefore, improving the maturation by culturing cells with proper microenvironmental cues is strongly required. In this article, we elucidate protocols for preparing a pancreatic tissue-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (pdECM) bioink to provide a beneficial microenvironment that can increase glucose sensitivity of pancreatic islets, followed by describing the processes for generating 3D pancreatic tissue constructs using a microextrusion-based bioprinting technique.
Recently, pancreatic islet transplantation has been considered a promising treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes. The relative safety and minimal invasiveness of the procedure are great advantages of this treatment1. However, it has several limitations such as the low success rate of isolating islets and the side effects of immunosuppressive drugs. Furthermore, the number of engrafted islets decreases steadily after transplantation due to the hostile environment2. Various biocompatible materials such as alginate, collagen, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) or polyethylene glycol (PEG) have been applied to pancreatic islet transplantation to overcome these difficulties.
3D cell printing technology is emerging in tissue engineering due to its great potential and high performance. Needless to say, bioinks are known as important components for providing a suitable microenvironment and enabling the improvement of cellular processes in printed tissue constructs. A substantial number of shear-thinning hydrogels such as fibrin, alginate, and collagen are widely used as bioinks. However, these materials show a lack of structural, chemical, biological, and mechanical complexity compared to the extracellular matrix (ECM) in native tissue3. Microenvironmental cues such as the interactions between islets and ECM are important signals for enhancing the function of islets. Decellularized ECM (dECM) can recreate the tissue-specific composition of various ECM components including collagen, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), and glycoproteins. For example, primary islets that retain their peripheral ECMs (e.g., type I, III, IV, V, and VI collagen, laminin, and fibronectin) exhibit low apoptosis and better insulin sensitivity, thus indicating that tissue-specific cell-matrix interactions are important for enhancing their ability to function similarly to original tissue4.
In this paper, we elucidate protocols for preparing pancreatic tissue-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (pdECM) bioink to provide beneficial microenvironmental cues for boosting the activity and functions of pancreatic islets, followed by the processes for generating 3D pancreatic tissue constructs using a microextrusion-based bioprinting technique (Figure 1).
This protocol described the development of pdECM bioinks and the fabrication of 3D pancreatic tissue constructs by using 3D cell printing techniques. To recapitulate the microenvironment of the target tissue in the 3D engineered tissue construct, the choice of bioink is critical. In a previous study, we validated that tissue-specific dECM bioinks are beneficial to promote stem cell differentiation and proliferation10. Compared to synthetic polymers, dECM can serve as a cell-favorable environment b…
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This research was supported by the Bio & Medical Technology Development program of the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (2017M3A9C6032067) and "ICT Consilience Creative Program" (IITP-2019-2011-1-00783) supervised by the IITP (Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation).
Biological Safety Cabinets | CRYSTE | PURICUBE 1200 | |
Deep Freezer | Thermo Scientific Forma | 957 | |
Digital orbital shaker | DAIHAN Scientific | DH.WSO04010 | |
Dry oven | DAIHAN Scientific | WON-155 | |
Freeze dryer | LABCONCO | 7670540 | |
Fridge | SANSUNG | CRFD-1141 | |
Grater | ABM | 1415605793 | |
Inverted Microscopes | Leica | DMi1 | |
Microcentrifuge | CRYSTE | PURISPIN 17R | |
Microplate reader | Thermo Fisher Scientific | Multiskan GO | |
Mini centrifuge | DAIHAN Scientific | CF-5 | |
Multi-Hotplate Stirrers | DAIHAN Scientific | SMHS-6 | |
Nanodrop | Thermo Fisher Scientific | ND-LITE-PR | |
pH benchtop meter | Thermo Fisher Scientific | STARA2110 | |
Rheometer | TA Instrument | Discovery HR-2 | |
Vortex Mixer | DAIHAN Scientific | VM-10 | |
Cirurgical Instruments | |||
Operating Scissors | Hirose | HC.13-122 | |
Forcep | Korea Ace Scientific | HC.203-30 | |
Materials | |||
1.7 mL microcentrifuge tube | Axygen | MCT-175-C | |
10 ml glass vial | Scilab | SL.VI1243 | |
40 µm cell strainer | Falcon | 352340 | |
5 L beaker | Dong Sung Science | SDS 2400 | |
50 mL cornical tube | Falcon | 352070 | |
500 mL beaker | Korea Ace Scientific | KA.23-08 | |
500 mL bottle-top vacuum filter | Corning | 431118 | |
500 mL plastic container | LOCK&LOCK | INL301 | |
96well plate | Falcon | 353072 | |
Aluminum foil | DAEKYO | ||
Kimwipe | Kimtech | ||
Magnetic bar | Korea Ace Scientific | BA.37110-0003 | |
Mortar and pestle | DAIHAN Scientific | SC.MG100 | |
Multi-channel pipettor | Eppendorf | 4982000314 | |
Petri Dish | SPL | 10100 | |
pH indicator strips | Sigma-Aldrich | 1095350001 | |
Sieve filter mesh | DAIHAN Scientific | ||
Decellularization | |||
10x pbs | Hyclone | SH30258.01 | |
4.7% Peracetic acid | Omegafarm | ||
70% ethanol | SAMCHUN CHEMICALS | E0220 SAM | |
Distilled water | |||
IPA | SAMCHUN CHEMICALS | samchun I0348 | |
Triton-X 100 | Biosesang | T1020 | |
Biochemical assay | |||
1,9-Dimethyl-Methylene Blue zinc chloride double salt | Sigma-Aldrich | 341088 | |
10 N NaOH | Biosesang | S2018 | |
Chloramine T | Sigma-Aldrich | 857319 | |
Chondroitin sulfate A | Sigma-Aldrich | C4384 | |
Citric acid | Supelco | 46933 | |
Cysteine-HCl | Sigma-Aldrich | C1276 | |
Glacial acetic acid | Merok | 100063 | |
Glycine | Sigma-Aldrich | 410225 | |
HCl | Sigma-Aldrich | H1758 | |
Na2-EDTA | Sigma-Aldrich | E5134 | |
NaCl | SAMCHUN CHEMICALS | S2097 | |
Papain | Sigma-Aldrich | p4762 | |
P-DAB | Sigma-Aldrich | D2004 | |
Perchloric acid | Sigma-Aldrich | 311421 | |
Sodium acetate | Sigma-Aldrich | S5636 | |
Sodium hydroxide | Supelco | SX0607N | |
Sodium phosphate(monobasic) | Sigma-Aldrich | RDD007 | |
Toluene | Sigma-Aldrich | 244511 | |
Bioink | |||
Charicterized FBS | Hyclone | SH30084.03 | |
Penicillin-Streptomycin | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 15140122 | |
Pepsin | Sigma-Aldrich | P7215 | |
Rose bengal | Sigma-Aldrich | 198250 | |
RPMI-1640 medium | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 11875093 | |
Trypan Blue solution | Sigma-Aldrich | T8154 |