Apr 15, 2019 | By Thomas
For the first time ever Israeli scientists have created a vascularized human heart that combines human tissue taken from a patient, using a 3D printer.
Image credit: TAU
On Monday, a team of Tel Aviv University researchers revealed the 3D printed heart that completely matches the immunological, cellular, biochemical and anatomical properties of a human patient. Until now, scientists have been successful in printing only simple tissues without blood vessels.
“This is the first time anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart replete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers,” said Prof. Tal Dvir of TAU’s School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, who led the research for the study. He was assisted by Nadav Noor, Dr. Assaf Shapira, Reuven Edri, Idan Gal and Lior Wertheim.
The process involved taking a biopsy of fatty tissue from patients, after which the cellular and a-cellular materials were then separated. While the cells were reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells and efficiently differentiated to cardiac or endothelial cells, the extracellular matrix (ECM), a three-dimensional network of extracellular macromolecules, such as collagen and glycoproteins, were processed into a personalized hydrogel that served as the printing “ink.”
The differentiated cells were then mixed with the bio-inks and were used to 3D-print patient-specific, immune-compatible cardiac patches with blood vessels and, subsequently, an entire heart. The 3D printing process takes around 3-4 hours.
Image credit: TAU
“This heart is made from human cells and patient-specific biological materials. In our process, these materials serve as the bio-inks, substances made of sugars and proteins that can be used for 3D printing of complex tissue models,” Dvir said. “People have managed to 3D-print the structure of a heart in the past, but not with cells or with blood vessels. Our results demonstrate the potential of our approach for engineering personalized tissue and organ replacement in the future.”
At this stage, the 3D printed heart produced at TAU is sized for a rabbit. It will need to undergo a maturing process in bioreactors to keep the cells alive and grow them to accommodate a life-sized heart.
The next step, they said, is to teach the hearts to organize and interact with each other and achieve pumping ability. The maturing process will take about a month, after which they will transplant them into animals such as rabbits and rats for testing. They hope this will happen in one or two years. The hope is that within “10 years, there will be organ printers in the finest hospitals around the world, and these procedures will be conducted routinely,” Dvir said.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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