3-D pancreas
Polish scientists have printed the world's first bionic pancreas with vessels
Ariel Finerman, Habr, by the material Science in Poland: Polish researchers printed the world's first bionic pancreas with vessels
Cells of the grown gland
The world's first bionic pancreas with blood vessels was printed by Polish scientists from the Foundation for Research and Science Development, a unique work led by Dr. Michal Vshola. In April, scientists plan to implant the petals and islands of the pancreas in mice to test their function in a living organism. Experiments on pigs are scheduled for October 2019. "No one has grown a parenchymal organ with complete vascularization before," said transplant surgeon Dr. Michal Vshola. Previously, he developed a new method of minimally invasive treatment of complicated diabetes using endoscopic transplantation of pancreatic islets under the gastric mucosa. His new project, the bionic pancreas, will also be able to treat diabetes in the future.¶
The printed pancreas consists exclusively of pancreatic islets; it lacks exocrine function. Researchers believe that it will be able to restore insulin production in the body of a diabetic patient. Currently, this is only possible by injecting the hormone with an insulin dispenser or pump.
Michal Vshola, surgeon, expert in transplantation:
"The human pancreas produces pancreatic juice, which helps us digest food. It also carries about a million pancreatic islets, small protrusions consisting of alpha and beta cells that produce insulin and glucagon. People with diabetes have damaged pancreatic islets, they do not have cells that produce insulin and glucagon. Only pancreatic juice is produced. That's why they use insulin injections. We decided to grow an organ that will produce insulin and glucagon using alpha and beta cells," Dr. Vshola said in an interview with PAP. Polish scientists took islet cells from animals and mixed them with biochernils, a substance that allows cells to survive. The bioprinter began to place them in the bioreactor in accordance with the previously developed three-dimensional scheme. At the same time, using a second syringe, the researchers printed blood vessels through which blood would flow in the organ.
"After printing our pancreas, we didn't look at how natural it looked, we weren't interested at all. We confirmed that we were able to print an organ 1-1.5 cm thick, and that this organ has a dense vascular network so that all islet cells of the pancreas are well supplied with glucose and oxygen," says Dr. Vshola.
Polish engineers needed to create the right biochernils, because none of the existing inks were suitable for this experiment. Another difficulty was to ensure that the liquid in the syringe, in the cartridge – after printing and exposure to physical and chemical factors – would become dense and form layers, as well as preserve the structure.
"The mathematical study allowed us to estimate how functional this organ will be after the activation of the blood flow. How the blood will behave in this organ, depending on the different values of its pressure and hematocrit – the number of red blood cells in the blood." Some vessels had to be lengthened, others shortened," says Dr. Vshola.
Scientists at work
In April, the petals of the pancreas with islands will be tested on mice. These tests will end in June. In October 2019, a large fragment of the pancreas measuring several centimeters with vessels will be tested on pigs. "We need to check how the organ will function in a living organism, how microcirculation will form in it and how its structure will change," says Dr. Vshola. According to the doctor, no one has done this before. "In other experiments, biodegradable scaffolds are populated with cells and then implanted into humans. This can only be used for certain types of tissues, such as cartilage, bones, trachea or bladder, but not for the liver, pancreas, kidneys or lungs, because these are parenchymal organs that need a vascular network. Vascularization was a big problem," he says.
"On March 14, during the charity auction of scientific papers, we will present the results of our work on the bionic pancreas and hope to establish contacts with the business for further development," says Dr. Vshola. He explains that it was this bionic pancreas that was printed from pig cells: "But it doesn't matter, because we consider her as an example."
The Bionic pancreas 3D printing project, implemented by the Foundation for Research and Science Development, is jointly funded by the National Centre for Research and Development as part of the STRATEGMED III program. The consortium members are Nencki Institute, Warsaw University of Technology, Medical University of Warsaw, Infant Jesus Hospital and MediSpace. The goal of the project is to grow a custom pancreas from the patient's stem cells, which would eliminate the immune response.
The initiators and founders of Cellink, a pioneer of three-dimensional bioprinting, are interested in the research of the Polish consortium. Eric Gatenholm and Hector Martinez will visit the Foundation's laboratory and take part in a charity auction aimed at raising funds for research.
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