Adaptable Manufacturing and Biofabrication of Milliscale Organ Chips With Perfusable Vascular Beds.

Microphysiological systems (MPS) containing perfusable vascular beds unlock the ability to model tissue-scale elements of vascular physiology and disease in vitro. Access to inexpensive stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers now enables benchtop fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) organ chips, eliminating the need for cleanroom access and microfabrication expertise, and can facilitate broader adoption of MPS approaches in preclinical research. Rapid prototyping of organ chip mold designs accelerates the processes of design, testing, and iteration, but geometric distortion and surface roughness of SLA resin prints can impede the development of standardizable manufacturing workflows.

Sex-specific actions of estradiol and testosterone on human fibroblast and endothelial cell proliferation, bioenergetics, and vasculogenesis.

Progress toward the development of sex-specific tissue engineered systems has been hampered by the lack of research efforts to define the effects of sex-specific hormone concentrations on relevant human cell types. Here, we investigated the effects of defined concentrations of estradiol (E2) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on primary human dermal and lung fibroblasts (HDF and HLF), and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) from female (XX) and male (XY) donors in both 2D expansion cultures and 3D stromal vascular tissues. Sex-matched E2 and DHT stimulation in 2D expansion cultures significantly increased the proliferation index, mitochondrial membrane potential, and the expression of genes associated with bioenergetics (Na+/K+ ATPase, somatic cytochrome C) and beneficial stress responses (chaperonin) in all cell types tested.