Development of a Bone Tumor Model with 3D Printed and Lyophilized Scaffolds

Acronym: BonTuMod
No.: 2/POLTUR-1/2016
Program: Polish-Turkish contest
Financing unit: NCBR (National Centre for Research and Development)
Project leader: professor Wojciech Święszkowski
Function: leader
Timeframe: 2016 - 2018

Project description

Osteosarcoma is the most common cancerous tumor in a bone. The structure of this tumor is solid, hard and irregular. The tumor tissue is composed of osteocytes, which have lost the normal p53 function. The aim of the project is to use a tissue engineering approach to develop a 3D bone tumor model in vitro and to test its ability to serve as a model in the treatment by using conventional therapeutic approaches such as controlled drug delivery. Two different types of 3D scaffolds will be used to grow osteosarcoma under in vitro conditions. After the fabrication of the 3D PLGA/TCP scaffolds, they will be seeded with Saos2 cells (osteosarcoma) together with HOB (Human osteoblast cells) and HUVEC (Human umbilical vein endothelial cells) to mimic the tumor tissue. Vascularization profile in both models will be obtained by the using of angiogenic factors (e.g. Relaxin). A variety of analytical approaches such as SEM, μCT, mechanical testing, cell viability, histochemistry, and molecular analyses will be performed to assess the effectiveness of the in vitro bone tumor mimic. Responsiveness of the developed models to cytotoxic drugs will be studied as an indicator of proper representation of bone tumor. It is expected that the developed 3D tumor model would help establish a more physiological environment for high throughput drug testing and development. Moreover, it could also be used in personalized medicine by selection the most effective drugs for individual patients using patient’s own cells in the 3D model.