{"id":"doi:10.1016/j.isci.2026.117866","kind":"article","title":"Protocol for fabricating immune-regulatory bone organoids via plant-based bioinks","authors":["Wang T","Gao G","Zhang X","Huo K","Liu C","Geng Z","Bai L","Zhang H","Liu H","Xu K","Lai Y","Wang J","Jing Y","He C","Wang G","Su J","Ren X"],"author_count":17,"year":2026,"published":"2026-10-12","venue":"iScience","cited_by":0,"doi":"10.1016/j.isci.2026.117866","arxiv_id":null,"nct_id":null,"source_url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.117866","archive_url":"https://space-kitty.com/papers/doi:10.1016/j.isci.2026.117866","updated":null,"pmid":"42904200","pmcid":"PMC13682476","openalex_id":null,"pdf_url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13682476/pdf","abstract":"Bone organoids offer three-dimensional systems for studying skeletal development, disease, and regeneration. However, many existing bone organoid systems do not adequately incorporate immune-regulatory cues, despite their central role in bone repair. Their translational potential is further limited by the use of animal-derived matrices such as Matrigel, which are xenogeneic, poorly defined, and subject to batch-to-batch variation. To address these limitations, we developed a Matrigel-free and exogenous cytokine-free bioink composed of Aloe vera gel (AV), gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA), and Laponite. This formulation supports the fabrication of immune-regulatory bone organoids by providing both a printable extracellular matrix-like scaffold and intrinsic immune-regulatory signals. In vitro , the bioink promotes sustained macrophage reprogramming and helps establish an immune microenvironment that supports bone organoid maturation. Here, we describe a step-by-step protocol for preparing the plant-containing bioink, fabricating immune-regulatory bone organoids, and evaluating their performance in cranial bone defect models. This defined and reproducible platform provides a practical alternative to conventional Matrigel-based systems and may be adapted for the engineering of other immune-responsive tissues.","abstract_license":"CC-BY (article license as recorded by Europe PMC; abstract reproduced unmodified apart from markup removal)","license":"CC-BY","is_open_access":true,"retracted":false,"peer_reviewed":null,"categories":[],"details":null,"provenance":"europepmc","attribution":"Abstract of \"Protocol for fabricating immune-regulatory bone organoids via plant-based bioinks\" by Wang T, Gao G, Zhang X et al., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.117866, used under its Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY); markup removed, otherwise unmodified.","topics":[{"slug":"organoids","name":"Organoids & Organ-on-Chip","domain_slug":"biotech"}],"cited_in_dossiers":[]}