Engineering the Islet: A Renaissance in 3D Bioprinting for Beta Cell Regeneration

Abstract

Diabetes is driven by the impairment or destruction of the pancreas' insulin-producing beta cells a significant global health burden. That burden is primarily due to the limitations of our current treatments: mainly insulin therapy and transplanting pancreatic islets. Those options are restricted by factors like donor shortages, the risk of the immune system rejecting the transplant and the fact they don't fully restore the body's natural glucose-regulating mechanisms. As a result, researchers are turning to three-dimensional bioprinting technology to generate those beta cells from scratch. This review looks at the building blocks of 3D bioprinting, the materials and techniques being used to create pancreatic beta cells—and where we stand on that research. We also examine the potential for those engineered beta cells to be used in future treatments for diabetes. We discuss the ongoing challenges and the research needed to overcome them. The key to that will be collaboration across disciplines. By combining advanced bioprinting methods with regenerative medicine, we may be able to fundamentally change how we treat diabetes mellitus.