Pan3DP · 3D bioprinting of pancreatic tissue for biomedical research

Developing therapies for pancreatic diseases, such as diabetes and pancreatic cancer, is hampered by a limited access to pancreatic tissue in vivo. Engineering three-dimensional (3D) tissue models, which accurately mimic the native organ, have great potential in biomedical applications, by both providing powerful platforms for studying tissue development and homeostasis and for modeling diseases in pharmaceutical testing. Our research proposal establishes a multi-disciplinary European consortium with the ambitious goal of developing an innovative bioprinting approach for generating pancreatic tissue. Tissues and organs comprise multiple cell types with specific biological functions that must be recapitulated in the printed tissue. We will biomimic developmental processes to fabricate 3D bioprinted pancreatic tissue units that allow sustained cell viability, expansion and functional differentiation ex vivo. Specifically, the aim of this proposal is three-fold: 1. To expand and unify the knowledge of 3D in vivo architecture of the developing pancreas; 2. To develop bioprinting technology for engineering vascularized pancreatic tissue units; and 3. To establish conditions for in vitro differentiation and maturation of the bioprinted pancreatic tissue.This exploratory research in the emerging technological field of bioprinting will pave the way towards new technological possibilities of growing functional tissues and organs in a laboratory. We expect that the knowledge and paradigms generated by our research project will not only drive major technological advances in tissue-engineering and bioprinting, but will also open radically new possibilities in medicine, allowing to study pancreatic diseases ex vivo in fabricated tissue, to develop new drugs, and, possibly to facilitate the replacement of injured or diseased tissue.