Creation of long‐lasting blood vessels in vivo

Abstract

A major challenge in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is the creation of stable vasculature. One approach in vascularizing an engineered tissue is to add the cellular components of blood vessels (endothelial and perivascular cells) directly in the tissue‐engineered construct. We have shown the formation of long‐lasting vascular networks in vivo by co‐implanting human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and 10T1/2 mesenchymal precursor cells in a three‐dimensional fibronectin‐type I collagen scaffold. Because mesenchymal precursor cells differentiate into perivascular cells and fortify blood vessels in vivo, the resulting vessels are stable and functional for one year. In contrast, the HUVEC‐alone constructs showed minimal perfusion and disappeared by two months. These findings indicate that fostering endothelial‐perivascular cell interactions in vivo offers a promising approach for engineering blood vessels. Furthermore, the tissue‐engineered blood vessel model provides an ideal platform to study cellular and molecular mechanisms of vessel formation and maturation. The potential of different sources of vascular cells in the creation of engineered vessels in vivo can also be tested with this model.Supported in part by NIH grants (P01CA80124, R01CA96915).