The Development of Endothelial Cells in Revascularization of Blood Vessels in Kidney Scaffolds

Abstract

The kidney is an important organ of the human body. However, the morbidity and mortality of endstage renal disease (ESRD) have been increasing year after year. Currently, the best treatment for ESRD is kidney transplantation. However, the extreme lack of donor kidneys causes many people to die in queues waiting for a kidney source. Fortunately, recent advances in bioengineering, stem cells, and regenerative medicine have raised new hopes that there may be a viable way to form new transplantable kidneys. Kidney scaffolds have had all cellular components removed, but retain intact extracellular matrix (ECM). However, there are still many challenges, such as thrombosis, before this potential therapy can be used in clinical patients. Vascularization is a key part of the success of tissue engineering and a vital factor for maintaining organ function. Endothelial cells are crucial in the formation of vessels in kidney scaffolds. The primary challenge of recellularized kidney scaffolds is to re-endothelialize the renal vasculature. Unfortunately, until now, there have been no report demonstrating successful vascularization in bioengineering kidney scaffolds, such as uniform endothelial cell coverage of vascular walls, no thrombosis and blood flow maintenance for a long time. Hence, this review mainly discusses the development of endothelial cells in the re-endothelialized vasculature of renal scaffolds.