Generation of 3-D Glioblastoma-Vascular Niche using 3-D Bioprinting

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a malignant brain tumor, frequently exploit microvessels as guides for migration. Understanding cell-cell interaction between vascular cells and GBM cells may suggest a new therapeutic direction. We developed physiological 3-D glioma-vascular niche model to investigate this cell-cell interaction using 3-D bioprinting technology. In the model, patient-derived GBM cell cluster was closely located to fluidic vessel. The influence of microenvironmental factors (matrix composition) has been tested in order to provide better control on 3-D cell behavior in future research. The 3D vascular niche platform can be adapted to other biological systems and will be used as a valuable tool to model cell-cell interactions and to control microenvironment in other systems.