Investigating multi-material hydrogel three-dimensional printing for in vitro representation of the neo-vasculature of solid tumours: a comprehensive mechanical analysis and assessment of nitric oxide release from human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Asciak, L., Gilmour, L., Anthony Williams, J., Foster, E., Díaz-García, L., McCormick, C., Windmill, J., Mulvana, H. E. , Jackson-Camargo, J. C. and Domingo-Roca, R. (2023) Investigating multi-material hydrogel three-dimensional printing for in vitro representation of the neo-vasculature of solid tumours: a comprehensive mechanical analysis and assessment of nitric oxide release from human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Royal Society Open Science, 10(8), 230929. (doi: 10.1098/rsos.230929) (PMID:37593713) (PMCID:PMC10427827)

Abstract

Many solid tumours (e.g. sarcoma, carcinoma and lymphoma) form a disorganized neo-vasculature that initiates uncontrolled vessel formation to support tumour growth. The complexity of these environments poses a significant challenge for tumour medicine research. While animal models are commonly used to address some of these challenges, they are time-consuming and raise ethical concerns. In vitro microphysiological systems have been explored as an alternative, but their production typically requires multi-step lithographic processes that limit their production. In this work, a novel approach to rapidly develop multi-material tissue-mimicking, cell-compatible platforms able to represent the complexity of a solid tumour's neo-vasculature is investigated via stereolithography three-dimensional printing. To do so, a series of acrylate resins that yield covalently photo-cross-linked hydrogels with healthy and diseased mechano-acoustic tissue-mimicking properties are designed and characterized. The potential viability of these materials to displace animal testing in preclinical research is assessed by studying the morphology, actin expression, focal adhesions and nitric oxide release of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. These materials are exploited to produce a simplified multi-material three-dimensional printed model of the neo-vasculature of a solid tumour, demonstrating the potential of our approach to replicate the complexity of solid tumours in vitro without the need for animal testing.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: 2024-04-15 TG Authors were not at UoG at time of publication.
• Keywords: solid tumours, sarcoma, carcinoma, human umbilical vein endothelial cells
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Domingo-Roca, Mr Roger and Mulvana, Dr Helen

Creator Roles

Mulvana, H.: Methodology, Resources, Writing – review and editing
Domingo-Roca, R.: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Asciak, L., Gilmour, L., Anthony Williams, J., Foster, E., Díaz-García, L., McCormick, C., Windmill, J., Mulvana, H. E., Jackson-Camargo, J. C., and Domingo-Roca, R.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Royal Society Open Science
• Publisher: The Royal Society
• ISSN: 2054-5703
• ISSN (Online): 2054-5703
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Royal Society Open Science 10(8): 230929
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence
• Data DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6772919.v1