Abstract

A 3D BIOPRINTING LIVER TUMOR MODEL FOR DRUG SCREENING

Xinwei Zhou, Chang Liu, Xinru Zhao, Xiaohong Wang*

ABSTRACT

Building a three-dimensional (3D) tissue model in vitro instead of animal models to test drug sensitivity has been an inevitable trend in drug research and development for it is less expensive, less time consuming, and more tightly controlled. In this article, a 3D liver tumor model consisting of HepG2 cells and sodium alginate/gelatin/fibrinogen hydrogel was created using a cell 3D bioprinter developed in Tsinghua University our own group. The subsequent scanning electron microscope observation and acridine orange/propidium iodide staining results indicated that HepG2 cells loaded in the alginate/gelatin/fibrinogen hydrogel grew well with high cell livability. Cell Count Kit-8, alpha-fetoprotein and half maximal inhibitory measurements demonstrated and verified that under the treatment of different anti-cancer drugs, such as 5-Fluorouracil, mitomycin and their combination, significant differences between the HepG2 cell behaviors in the 3D and 2D conditions were existed. The 3D liver tumor model is a promising application for in vitro drug screening.

Keywords: 3D cell bioprinting; drug screening; liver tumor model; HepG2 cells; 2D cell culture.