Biofabrication of tissue engineering vascular systems

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among persons aged 65 and older in the United States and many other developed countries. Tissue engineered vascular systems (TEVS) can serve as grafts for CVD treatment and be used as in vitro model systems to examine the role of various genetic factors during the CVD progressions. Current focus in the field is to fabricate TEVS that more closely resembles the mechanical properties and extracellular matrix environment of native vessels, which depends heavily on the advance in biofabrication techniques and discovery of novel biomaterials. In this review, we outline the mechanical and biological design requirements of TEVS and explore the history and recent advances in biofabrication methods and biomaterials for tissue engineered blood vessels and microvascular systems with special focus on in vitro applications. In vitro applications of TEVS for disease modeling are discussed.

The Biofabrication of Diseased Artery In Vitro Models

“…Three-dimensional bioprinting represents the frontier technology in the field of bio logical manufacturing and is used to fabricate diseased vascular models with complex structures. A notable feature of 3D bioprinting is the ability to manufacture a wide variety of tubular structures and sizes, from arterial to arteriolar sizes, as well as branching struc tures, and even incorporating vascular preprocessing networks in 3D stents for tissue re generation [91]. Dellaquila et al [78] focused on reviewing the application of bioprinting OoC has exhibited distinguished advantages over the traditional 2D cell culture methods, such as realizing 3D cell co-culture, offering dynamic stimulations, and replicating the tissue interface.…”

“…They are often designed as rectangular channels stacked on top of each other or side by side, which makes them impossible to reproduce the exact flow within the cylindrical vessels. This may also alter the endothelial function and affect cell contraction-related mechanisms [91]. Another major obstacle is that the cells used in these model systems may not always represent the phenotype of human disease or the patient's local environment, so the standardization of cell lines and growth protocols is necessary [89].…”

Biofabrication of Collagen Tissue-Engineered Blood Vessels with Direct Co-Axial Extrusion

“…In this regard, the development of tissue-engineered blood vessels (TEBVs) as alternative grafts for bypass surgery is an area of extensive research [ 7 ]. Different methods have been described for the development of TEBVs, such as sheet rolling, direct scaffolding using electrospinning, matrix molding or even decellularization [ 8 ]. However, these approaches involve multiple steps in order to obtain a vascular construct seeded with vascular cells.…”

From In Vitro to Perioperative Vascular Tissue Engineering: Shortening Production Time by Traceable Textile-Reinforcement

“…Several polymeric matrices have been developed and studied for use as artificial grafts in vascular applications, including polyurethane (PU), expanded PTFE (ePTFE), and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) [ 1 – 3 ]. With the aid of balloons and catheters, vascular bypasses using autografts, artificial grafts, or vascular stents have been widely studied [ 4 – 6 ]. Though clinically established synthetic grafts are currently in use, the indications are limited to higher vascular diameters, and susceptibility to infections can lead to morbidity and mortality [ 7 – 9 ].…”