By combining the strengths and expertise of each of our project partners, we will be able to achieve our aim of fabricating pancreatic tissue using 3D bioprinting. There are three main themes of research in this project which all feed into our goal: Developmental Cell Biology, Computational Biology and 3D Bioprinting.
Developmental Cell Biology
In order to succeed in 3D bioprinting of pancreatic tissue, it is essential that we have experts on the different pancreatic cell types - the building blocks of what we will engineer in the lab.
Dr Francesca Spagnoli, Dr Limor Landsman and Dr Christophe Pierreux will, along with their research groups, use their expertise in developmental biology and stem cell biology to mimic the correct cell composition and cell-cell interactions during normal pancreas formation.
Harnessing developmental biology concepts will enable us to reproduce native biological structures and in vivo-like environment that provides the cells with the same regulatory factors that govern in vivo developmental and cellular processes during and after the bioprinting. This is a unique strength and innovation of our consortium in which leaders in developmental biology team together with engineering and computational experts to dissolve boundaries across these different disciplines.
Computational biology
New technological advances in science have led to the capability to generate massive amounts information about biological systems such as genetic or imaging data. In this project we will leverage these advances to gain insights into the composition of the developing pancreas.
Dr Dagmar Iber’s team will lead in this area and will perform the analysis of high throughput experimental data that is generated during the project. The results from the data analysis will be used to guide and inform the 3D bioprinting strategy.
3D Bioprinting
3D bioprinting uses techniques similar to regular 3D printing but uses living cells and biomaterials to fabricate biomedical entities, such as tissues. The general concept of using 3D bioprinting in the Pan3DP project involves printing specific cell types at certain locations to reproduce the architecture of the native pancreatic tissue and integrate the different tissue components, including the surrounding microenvironment and vasculature. These bioengineered structures have the potential to develop into mature pancreatic tissue, which can be used to study pancreatic development and disease.
Dr Shulamit Levenberg and Dr Fabien Guillemot will lead on the 3D bioprinting aspects of the project. Dr Levenberg’s expertise in biomaterials will provide guidance on what structures are suitable for the cells to be printed on while Dr Guillemot and his team at Poietis will use their extensive industry knowledge of 3D bioprinting to fabricate the 3D bioprinted material. Visit the Poietis website to learn more about the use of thier 3D bioprinting.