A new 3D cell printing technology to create pancreatic tissue

Eight European partners, including the Federico II, to develop a new "bioprinter" that, using visible light, will print stem cells three-dimensionally in functional pancreatic tissues. This is the ENLIGHT project, which brings together researchers from leading academic centers and industries across Europe to develop a human in vitro model of the pancreas to enable better testing of diabetes drugs.

 

Professor Riccardo Levato of the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU) will coordinate the eight European partners, leading the multidisciplinary consortium consisting of Polytechnic University of Lausanne (EPFL), ETH Zurich (Switzerland), University of Naples Federico II (Italy), AstraZeneca (Sweden), Rousselot (Belgium), Readily 3D (Switzerland) and Fondazione Giannino Bassetti (Italy).

 

Professor Massimiliano Caiazzo, will be responsible for the part of the research program carried out by the University Federico II and will coordinate a group of researchers from the Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology (DMMBM) to work on stem cell differentiation in pancreatic tissues.

 

These human tissue models can be generated from any individual and could reduce the need for animal testing, accelerate drug discovery for pharmaceutical industries, and reduce the use of patients in clinical trials. This technology could have a direct impact for diabetic patients, and potentially in the future, for other diseases including cancer.

 

ENLIGHT researchers will focus on two main goals: the first is to make a "bioprinter," which can reproduce human tissue very quickly. Whereas a conventional 3D printer takes about an hour to reproduce an object, this volumetric "bioprinter" will be able to do so in about a minute. This feature will significantly improve the survival rate of the printed cells. The second goal will be to recreate the functionality of the pancreas model by adding signaling molecules that induce hormonal functions.

In the longer term, the ENLIGHT project will also lay the groundwork for the goal of providing new tools to solve the shortage of donor organs for transplantation and regenerative medicine.

The ENLIGHT project has received a 4-year grant of 3.6 million euros from the European Council's Horizon 2020 Innovation Fund under Grant Agreement No. 964497.

More information about the ENLIGHT project is available on the EU CORDIS website.