Diabetes is a metabolic disorder caused by dysfunction in the pancreas, the organ responsible for regulating blood sugar levels. Within the pancreas, islet cells secrete insulin to lower blood sugar. However, producing these cells for therapeutic use has proven extremely challenging. While stem cells offer a promising route to generating islets in vitro, recreating the exact microenvironment and vascular niche they need to function—similar to that of a real pancreas—has been a major obstacle.

Islet cells regulate insulin secretion through interactions with surrounding components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and vascular cells. The POSTECH team developed a specialized bioink called PINE (Peri-islet Niche-like ECM), which includes ECM and basement membrane proteins—such as laminin and collagen IV—partially extracted from actual pancreatic tissue. Leveraging 3D bioprinting technology, the team then fabricated the Human Islet-like Cellular Aggregates and Vasculature (HICA-V) platform.