ISSN: 0970-938X (Print) | 0976-1683 (Electronic)
An International Journal of Medical Sciences
Jose Manuel Baena
REGEMAT 3D, Spain
Keynote : Biomed Res
DOI: 10.4066/biomedicalresearch-C1-024
Introduction: A lot of efforts have been directed to the creation
of functional knee cartilage tissue in the lab. The lack of tissue
regeneration in human beings and the deficiency of allogenic
transplants in addition to the increasing of life expectancy make
this problem to be considered as one of the most important
ones of humanity in the current era.
Joint cartilage is a connective tissue that lacks vascularization
and innervation and is composed of a specific extracellular
matrix. The healing process of cartilage tissue is slow and results
in a fibrous scar-like tissue that lacks the functional properties
of the hyaline cartilage leading to further tissue degeneration.
However, the results obtained are still far away from the desired.
For the creation of a living tissue it is crucial the bioprinting
process but also the maturation of the construct. Replicating
the human being adult conditions in vivo in the lab or the stimuli
that occur in embryogenesis could improve the results of tissue
engineering towards the clinical application of the technology.
Materials and methods: Here, we propose a unique approach
to create functional knee cartilage tissue starting from bio
printed constructs (fabricated using bioprinting) and a device
that mimic the physiology and apply the right mechanical
conditions of the structure to be replaced and through the
maturation procedure, applying the right stimuli, creates a
functional tissue. We think that the best stress distribution is
the real one and other approaches fail as do not mimic the real
conditions happening in nature.
Results and discussion: In the present work, we show a method
that helps to create functional knee cartilage tissue after
bioprinting. For the creation of a living tissue it is crucial the
bioprinting process and the ingredients selected to achieve the
objective to create a functional specific tissue (first block of the
image). But also, the maturation procedure applied to the 3D
cell laden constructs, that is even more important (second block
of the image). If we think about bioprinting as a technology to
recreate all the structure in the same form as shown in a living
knee cartilage tissue, we are going to fail. We have to think on
bioprinting as a way of creating cell laden 3D constructs as a
precursor of a functional tissue. The maturation and tissue
formation process will be as important or even more than the
bioprinting one. Considering the strategies of both blocks in the
diagram will be crucial to obtain the desired functional knee
cartilage tissue.
Conclusion: The stress distribution is crucial as stimuli to create
the right tissue. Also, the scaffold architecture as it will affect
the stimuli distribution and other important parameters as the
biodegradation time. The selection of the right ingredients and
the bioprinting procedure is very important in the success of
the creation of functional knee cartilage tissue, as well as the
maturation procedure applied to the 3D cell laden constructs is
even more important. This approach opens a wide research area
for tissue engineers to develop protocols with different stimuli
to create functional knee cartilage tissue after bioprinting.
Jose Manuel Baena completed his PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Granada, Spain, MSc Engineering from Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain and TU Braunschweig, Germany and MSc from Oxford Brookes University, UK. He serves as scientific coordinator of the tissue engineering and 3D printing platform (PITI3D), IDIPAZ, Hospital Universitario de La Paz, Madrid, Spain and he is research associate in the group “Advanced therapies: Differentiation, regeneration and cancer” IBIMER, CIBM, University of Granada, Spain. He has published several research papers and 1 book. He has presented his work in dozens of congresses around the globe. As a biotech entrepreneur, he founded BRECA Health Care, pioneer in 3D printed custom-made implants for orthopaedic surgery and REGEMAT 3D, a leader in the bioprinting industry. He is an expert in innovation, business development and internationalization, lecturer in some business schools and also, he is passionate about biomedicine and technology.
E-mail: josbaema@gmail.com
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