A team of researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan campus have developed a 3D bioprinted lung tissue model that could have important applications in drug testing and research into lung disease. The bioprinted tissue structure, bioprinted using CELLINK’s LUMEN X DLP bioprinter, is made from a photopolymerizable bioink, itself consisting of 80% polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and 20% gelatin methacrylate (GelMa) (various cell types were embedded or seeded into the bioprinted structure).
The importance of better understanding lung disease and developing more sophisticated treatments is critical, particularly in the context of UBC’s home country, where increasing wildfires are leading to significant decreases in air quality. Recent research suggests that this worsening air pollution could lead to Canadians’ life expectancy dropping by two years. For Dr. Emmanuel Osei, Assistant Professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, and his team, this has been a consideration in their work.
Their bioprinted lung model, which integrates vessels that closely mimic the structure of a real human lung, was exposed to cigarette smoke extract in one test, which enabled the researchers to study markers of inflammatory responses to the nicotine. “The fact that we’ve been able to create the model, then use particular triggers like cigarette smoke, to demonstrate how the model will react and mimic aspects of lung disease is a significant advancement in studying complex mechanisms of lung disease that will aid in studying how we treat them,” explained Dr. Osei.
The bioprinted lung tissue will also play an important role in testing drugs for patients with lung cancer or other serious lung disease. Presently, the drug testing process involves a surgeon extracting a portion of cancerous tissue and healthy tissue from the patient and sending the samples to a research lab. The problem with this is that the sample size may not be big enough to test various treatments. With the ability to bioprint tissue, however, it could be possible to turn these samples into a more substantial model. “Now, with 3D bioprinting, we can isolate cells from these donated tissues and potentially recreate additional tissue and test samples to conduct research in our labs and not rely on or wait for contributed tissues,” Dr. Osei elaborated.
The bioprinted lung research was recently published in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering and adds to a growing number of innovative bioprinting-based research initiatives targeting lung disease. In the past year alone, researchers from Tessella Biosciences (backed by Canada-based McMaster University) developed a bioink suitable for printing realistic lung models, and a project led by the US Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate pioneered the printing of lung tissue onto microchips to test the effects of toxic vapours like ammonia and chlorine.
“Our goal was to create a more physiologically relevant in vitro model of the human airway,” said Dr. Osei. “By integrating vascular components, we can better simulate the lung environment, which is crucial for studying diseases and testing therapeutics. Our model is complex, but due to the reproducibility and optimal nature of bio-printing, it can be adapted to include additional cell types or patient-derived cells, making it a powerful tool for personalized medicine and disease modelling.”