(520b) Bioprinted Three Dimensional Lattices Facilitate Expansion of Neural Stem Cells

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have the potential to play a meaningful role in basic research as well as regenerative medicine. Our capacity to successfully leverage this potential has been limited by our relative inability to efficiently expand NSCs in vitro while maintaining their undifferentiated, self-renewing stem phenotype. Here, we present a three dimensional (3D) printed platform which facilitates rapid and reproducible expansion of NSCs. The alginate biopolymers used herein as a bioink are cost-effective, readily-available, and competent to maintain cell expansion without chemical modification. We demonstrate that a two-stage crosslinking paradigm creates a shear thinning bioink which is self-healing and able to shield encapsulated NSCs from mechanical forces which emerge during the extrusion process. Once printed, the NSCs expand over 2.5-fold while maintaining the expression of markers indicative of stemness. Importantly, upon extraction from the printed scaffold, the NSCs remain competent to differentiate into more mature neural and glial cell fates. Taken together, these results underscore the potential utility of advances in 3D bioprinting and material science in overcoming complex and longstanding hindrances in academic and clinical applications of stem cell biology.