Bioprinting of bespoke islet-specific niches to promote maturation of stem cell-derived islets.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic islets are densely packed cellular aggregates containing various hormonal cell types essential for blood glucose regulation. Interactions among these cells markedly affect the glucoregulatory functions of islets along with the surrounding niche and pancreatic tissue-specific geometrical organization. However, stem cell (SC)-derived islets generated in vitro often lack the three-dimensional extracellular microenvironment and peri-vasculature, which leads to the immaturity of SC-derived islets, reducing their ability to detect glucose fluctuations and insulin release. Here, we bioengineer the in vivo-like pancreatic niches by optimizing the combination of pancreatic tissue-specific extracellular matrix and basement membrane proteins and utilizing bioprinting-based geometrical guid

SUBMITTER: Kim M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11805982 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature