Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jan 26, 2019; 11(1): 13-32
Published online Jan 26, 2019. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v11.i1.13
Applications of stem cells and bioprinting for potential treatment of diabetes
Shweta Anil Kumar, Monica Delgado, Victor E Mendez, Binata Joddar
Shweta Anil Kumar, Monica Delgado, Victor E Mendez, Binata Joddar, Inspired Materials and Stem-Cell Based Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968, United States
Binata Joddar, Border Biomedical Research Center, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968, United States
Author contributions: Anil Kumar S and Delgado M contributed equally to this work; Joddar B designed the layout of the review article and edited the work; Anil Kumar S, Delgado M and Mendez VE wrote the paper.
Supported by the National Institutes of Health, No. NIH BUILD Pilot 8UL1GM118970-02, NIH 1SC2HL134642-01; the National Science Foundation, NSF-PREM program, No. DMR: 1205302; and the PREM Center for Energy and Biomaterials, No. DMR: 1827745.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Binata Joddar, PhD, Assistant Professor, Inspired Materials and Stem-Cell Based Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968, United States. bjoddar@utep.edu
Telephone: +1-915-7478456 Fax: +1-915-7478036
Received: October 19, 2018
Peer-review started: October 19, 2018
First decision: November 15, 2018
Revised: December 26, 2018
Accepted: January 5, 2019
Article in press: January 6, 2019
Published online: January 26, 2019
Abstract

Currently, there does not exist a strategy that can reduce diabetes and scientists are working towards a cure and innovative approaches by employing stem cell-based therapies. On the other hand, bioprinting technology is a novel therapeutic approach that aims to replace the diseased or lost β-cells, insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas, which can potentially regenerate damaged organs such as the pancreas. Stem cells have the ability to differentiate into various cell lines including insulin‐producing cells. However, there are still barriers that hamper the successful differentiation of stem cells into β-cells. In this review, we focus on the potential applications of stem cell research and bioprinting that may be targeted towards replacing the β-cells in the pancreas and may offer approaches towards treatment of diabetes. This review emphasizes on the applicability of employing both stem cells and other cells in 3D bioprinting to generate substitutes for diseased β-cells and recover lost pancreatic functions. The article then proceeds to discuss the overall research done in the field of stem cell-based bioprinting and provides future directions for improving the same for potential applications in diabetic research.

Keywords: Bioprinting, Tissue engineering, Pluripotent stem cells, Mesenchymal stem cells, Human embryonic stem, Adult human liver cells, β-cells, Islet cells, Biomaterials, Bioink, Stem cell, Diabetes

Core tip: The shortage of strategies that can potentially reduce diabetes has prompted scientists to employ stem-cell based therapies that could help generate pancreatic β- cells that can regenerate damaged pancreas. The present review article discusses the potential applications of stem cell research by incorporating 3D bioprinting technology. The article also elaborates the research that has been previously and provides future directions for enhancing the potential applications in diabetic research.