For the first time ever, one of the deadliest brain tumors has been successfully printed using 3D bioprinting, creating the most complete laboratory growth model to date.
Scientists at Tel Aviv University have printed a glioblastoma in a brain-like environment, including blood vessels that supply blood to the tumor. Researchers say this is the most complete replication of the tumor and surrounding tissue to date—a breakthrough that could help develop treatments.
Glioblastoma may be rare, but it is particularly frightening. It grows rapidly and aggressively in the brain or brainstem, is incurable, and is almost always fatal.
It is also difficult to treat. Because this type of cancer is highly aggressive, treatment is quite demanding, usually requiring chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and patients often cannot complete the treatment due to the worsening of their condition.
Extracting and culturing glioblastoma tissue from tumors taken from patients is one way doctors hope to learn more about this horrific cancer. Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, a cancer researcher and nanoscientist at Tel Aviv University, says this is usually done on a petri dish, a useful tool, but it also has limitations.
In a previous study, she and her team discovered a protein called P-Selectin, which is produced when cancer cells in glioblastoma encounter microglia (the most prominent immune cells in the central nervous system) in the brain. This protein triggers microglia to support glioblastoma instead of fighting it—a devastating outcome for humans.
“However, we found this protein in surgically removed tumors, but not in glioblastoma cells grown in our lab’s 2D plastic culture dishes,” the researchers explained.
"The reason is that, like all tissues, cancer behaves very differently on plastic surfaces than it does in the human body. About 90% of experimental drugs fail in clinical trials because success achieved in the laboratory cannot be replicated in patients."
The team sought to overcome this limitation with a glioblastoma bioink made from glioblastoma cells, astrocytes, and microglia derived from patients. By using a mobile bioink to coat the various blood vessel-forming cells, they also managed to provide a functional blood supply to their model.
Each glioblastoma model is 3D printed in a bioreactor, and the hydrogel is also taken from the patient's extracellular matrix.
The researchers stated, "Our innovation allows us to better simulate clinical scenarios and achieve optimal research without time constraints."
This study was published in the journal Science Advances.
