The Application of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the Treatment of Spinal Cord Lesions

Spinal cord injury is a disease related to the central nervous system that leads to impaired sensory and motor functions, loss of axon, cell body and glial cell support. Currently, the treatment of spinal injuries is limited to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and surgery. However, current treatment methods cannot fully and effectively regenerate damaged nerve fibers and improve nerve function. Neural tissue engineering has focused on building biomimetic scaffolds inspired by the complex structure of the spinal cord together with cells to repair spinal cord lesions. In recent years, the 3D bioprinting technique has been used to make highly specialized and complex biological models, such as the spinal cord. Bioprinting is done by placing bioink on a substrate in layers. The additive approach of bioprinting enables the construction of fine 3D tissue models with precise control over the spatial position of cells.

The application of 3D bioprinting technology in the field of making cell-rich scaffolds and in vivo studies in spinal cord injury models indicate the bright prospects of this technology in the field of treating spinal lesions. However, to completely simulate the spinal cord tissue and improve the nerve function of the spinal cord after injury, it is necessary to conduct more research with different cells, biomaterials, and spinal cord injury models. In this review article, the method of 3D bioprinting, the types of printing techniques in spinal cord tissue engineering, and the studies conducted in line with the application of bioprinting in the treatment of spinal cord injuries are discussed.