Cutting edge Seminar

 

Speaker:  Shoji Takeuchi  (Professor, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo)

Title: Engineering in 3D tissue construction

 

Date&Time:  21 Jun.  (Wed.) 2021, 12:00- 12:50*

※This seminar can also be attended through ZOOM. Please check the URL on “HIGO Cutting-Edge Seminar” at Moodle.

https://md.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/course/view.php?id=90416

 

Abstract:

3D tissue architectures that mimic microscopic tissue structures in vivo are very important for not only in tissue engineering but also
drug development without animal experiments. We demonstrated a method of 3D tissue construction by using point, line and plane-type
microtissues as cellular building blocks. For example, to prepare the point type building blocks, we used an axisymmetric flow focusing
device (AFFD) that allows us to encapsulate cells within monodisperse collagen beads. By molding these cell beads into a 3D chamber and
incubating them, we successfully obtained complicated and milli-sized 3D cellular constructs. As the line type building blocks, a
cell-encapsulating core-shell hydrogel fiber was produced in a double coaxial laminar flow microfluidic device. When with myocytes,
endothelial, and nerve cells, they showed the contractile motion of the myocyte cell fiber, the tube formation of the endothelial cell
fibers and the synaptic connections of the nerve cell fiber, respectively. By reeling, weaving and folding the fibers using
microfluidic handling, higher-order assembly of fiber-shaped 3D cellular constructs can be performed. Moreover, the fiber
encapsulating beta-cells is used for the implantation of diabetic mice, and succeeded in normalizing the blood glucose level. In this
talk, I will briefly explain those technologies we have developed, and discuss their applications.