Injectable scaffolds with a hierarchically porous structure and augmented paracrine activity for minimally invasive precision medicine†

Stem cell-based therapeutic approaches hold great potential for regenerating severe tissue defects, however, current cell transplantation strategies cannot simultaneously achieve minimally invasive injection and structural integrity. Herein, an injectable 3D-bioprinted scaffold encapsulated with two-phase emulsion bioink-engineered mesenchymal stromal cells is proposed, which can serve as a novel versatile platform for efficient stem cell delivery in minimally invasive approaches. The two-phase emulsion bioinks could spontaneously undergo a phase separation process in an aqueous environment to form hierarchically porous structures (macropore size of 1 mm and micropore size of 100–200 µm), which not only facilitated the proliferation and spreading of the encapsulated cells but also endowed the bioprinted scaffolds with shape memory properties for in situ injection. More importantly, the interconnected macro-microporous structures of the 3D extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment could provide biophysical cues to obviously enhance the paracrine functions of encapsulated cells, with the enhanced secretion of bioactive factors related to immunomodulation, angiogenesis, and neurogenesis. RNA-seq results showed that ECM–receptor interaction, focal adhesion, and cytoskeleton regulation might participate in mechanotransduction pathways, thereby enhancing cell paracrine functions. In addition, the bioprinted scaffolds could be in situ injected into skin wounds without damaging their inherent porous structure and, thus, effectively promoted neuro-vascularized skin regeneration by inducing angiogenesis, promoting neurogenesis and suppressing the inflammatory response. Taken together, we successfully prepared an injectable scaffold integrating hierarchically porous structures with the augmented paracrine activity of stem cells, which is a promising candidate for tissue regeneration and minimally invasive precision medicine.