Bioprinting vascularized skin

3D printing of vascularized skin is now possible, according to researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  They “show that if they add key elements — including human endothelial cells, which line the inside of blood vessels, and human pericyte cells, which wrap around the endothelial cells — with animal collagen and other structural cells typically found in a skin graft, the cells start communicating and forming a biologically relevant vascular structure within the span of a few weeks.”  MORE

Image Credit:  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute