{"id":41083,"date":"2022-10-17T16:00:52","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T14:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=41083"},"modified":"2023-02-02T16:46:19","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T15:46:19","slug":"3d-bioprinting-plant-cell-research-study-17102022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-bioprinting-plant-cell-research-study-17102022\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Suggests Benefits of 3D Bioprinting In Plant Cell Research"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent study from North Carolina State University experimented using 3D <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/bioprinting-projects-3d-printed-organs-070420205\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bioprinting<\/a> to produce plant cells in order to assess the use of the method in biological research. They produced Arabidopsis- (thale cress; often used in genetic research) and soybean cells. Their 3D-printed cells had adequate viability and went on to produce microcalli (groups of plant tissue), indicating that they were successful productions. These findings suggest that 3D bioprinting could be at least as effective as traditional methods for plant cell reproduction. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Methods<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Firstly, let&#8217;s look at the method used to conduct the experiment: pneumatic extrusion. This is a type of 3D bioprinting in which the researcher utilizes air pressure to force out the biological material through a nozzle. This printed both the bioink and the support structures, likened to scaffolding. For the latter, they tested two different types- agarose and sodium alginate, to assess which one proved more effective. The soy bean cells showed good viability of almost 49% two weeks after creation, which indicates that bioprinting could produce cells with equal viability to traditional manual pipetting. After 5 days, viability within the 3D bioprinted structure was almost 25% for the Arabidopsis cells with agarose \u2018scaffolding\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_41087\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41087\" class=\"size-full wp-image-41087\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/3D-bioprinting-methods-canva.jpg\" alt=\"Image shows diagram 3 methods of 3D bioprinting \" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/3D-bioprinting-methods-canva.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/3D-bioprinting-methods-canva-600x343.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/3D-bioprinting-methods-canva-160x91.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-41087\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The team used a bioprinting method called pneumatic extrusion or dispension &#8211; C. Image credit: Advanced Nanobiomed Research on ResearchGate<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the viable cells, researchers were able to assess production of microcalli (groups of unorganized parenchyma cells, a type of plant cell). The cell cycle reentry coincided with the induction of core cell cycle genes and genes related to cell regeneration. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Essentially<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, they caused the bioprinted cells to restart their cell cycles and reproduce. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They found that after 14 days, on average 90% of bioprinted constructs formed 5-6 microcalli. This indicates that 3D bioprinted cells have the potential to undergo cell division and behave as cells produced by traditional methods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><div class=\"dnati-inside-article-leaderboard\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"dnati-2926508123\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/app.swapcard.com\/login\/event\/additiv-defense-2026\/ticket\/VGlja2V0VHlwZV83MDM4MQ==\/page\/UmVnaXN0cmF0aW9uRm9ybV81NjE4Ng==\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"LB\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/LB.gif\" alt=\"\"  width=\"850\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lastly, scientists examined the cellular identity of bioprinted root plant cells and the microcalli which they had formed. They used markers to track the protein expression and found that cell identity appeared to change over time. They observed that the cells induced genes responsible for the initiation or maintenance of stem cell identity within 3 days of observation. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers also tested whether the environment could be changed to evaluate cellular responses by applying high salinity. They found that the cells were less viable under these stress conditions, both meristematic (non-specialised plant cells which can become any type of cell) and differentiated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_41090\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41090\" class=\"size-full wp-image-41090\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Bio-research-inside-article-.jpg\" alt=\"Biological scientist observes microscope\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Bio-research-inside-article-.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Bio-research-inside-article--600x343.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Bio-research-inside-article--160x91.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-41090\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Biological research could be improved with the use of 3D Bioprinting.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><strong>Results and Implications<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These results have intriguing implications for 3D bioprinting in biological studies of plant cells. The reasonable viability of cells produced by this method shows that scientists could use it as an alternative to pipetting, in particular as it <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018provides better opportunity for high throughput processing and control over the architecture of the cells after bioprinting\u2019, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">according to corresponding co-author Professor Ross Sozzani. The production of microcalli indicates that these cells can rejoin the cell cycle and divide as normal cells would. Finally, the study into cell identity indicated that:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Bioprinted cells can take on the identity of stem cells; they divide and grow and express specific genes,&#8221; Van den Broeck said. &#8220;When you bioprint, you print a whole population of cell types. We were able to examine the genes expressed by individual cells after 3D bioprinting to understand any changes in cell identity.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The researchers suggested that further studies could use 3D bioprinting to test cell viability, division and identity in a \u2018tunable environment\u2019. 3D bioprinting has previously been used in biological projects such as medicinal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/tissuelabs-bioprinting-artificial-organs-080920224\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">organ growth<\/a> and the production of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/steakholder-foods-unveils-its-new-highly-marbled-3d-printed-beef-cut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">meat alternatives. <\/a>\u00a0This is a very interesting field and is important for scientific discovery not simply business applications, unlike some uses of 3D printing. If you wish to read the full report, it is available on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.abp9906\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science.org<\/a> (log-in required). You can find a summary on the University&#8217;s news blog <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ncsu.edu\/2022\/10\/3d-printing-plant-cells-shows-promise-for-studying-cell-function\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What do you think of this study? Will 3D bioprinting change biological research? Let us know in a comment below or on our<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/4987104\/\">\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/3Dnatives\/\">\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/3Dnatives_en\/\">\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0pages! Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly<a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printing-newsletter\/\">\u00a0Newsletter here<\/a>, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCMWrNpdLOXa7BffRKXZoaZw\">\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>*<em>Cover photo credit: <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lisa Van den Broeck, NC State University<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent study from North Carolina State University experimented using 3D bioprinting to produce plant cells in order to assess the use of the method in biological research. They produced Arabidopsis- (thale cress; often used in genetic research) and soybean&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6095,"featured_media":41086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6095"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41083"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44132,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41083\/revisions\/44132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}