A team of University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison scientists has developed the first 3D-printed brain tissue that can grow and function like typical brain tissue.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an achievement with important implications for scientists studying the brain and working on treatments for a broad range of neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Alzheimer\u2019s and Parkinson\u2019s diseases.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis could be a hugely powerful model to help us understand how brain cells and parts of the brain communicate in humans,\u201d says Su-Chun Zhang, professor of neuroscience at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and a member of UW\u2013Madison\u2019s Waisman Center. \u201cIt could change the way we look at stem cell biology, neuroscience and the pathogenesis of many neurological and psychiatric disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Printing methods have limited the success of previous attempts to print brain tissue, according to Zhang and Yuanwei Yan, a scientist in Zhang\u2019s lab. The group behind the new 3D-printing process described their method today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.<\/p>\n