Biofunctionalized Microfiber-Assisted Formation of Intrinsic Three-Dimensional Capillary-Like Structures

Abstract

The guidance of vessel growth within tissue-engineered constructs can be achieved using biofunctionalized PLLA microfibers. Further methods are warranted to perform specified spatial positioning of fibers within 3D formative scaffolds to enhance the applicability of the concept.

The penetration and phenotype modulation of smooth muscle cells on surface heparin modified poly(ɛ‐caprolactone) vascular scaffold

“…In order to successfully construct smooth muscle layer, smooth muscle cell's (SMC) penetration into the scaffold and its phenotype modulation within the scaffold are two prerequisites. The former confirms the cells can enter the scaffold to initiate the regeneration, and the latter ensured the cells could play the correct roles within the scaffold in the different periods to finalize regeneration and endow psychological functions . Cell penetration and phenotype modulation are thought to be heavily depending on the scaffold's property because it provides the main environment for cell attachment, immigration, growth and proliferation.…”

“…The former confirms the cells can enter the scaffold to initiate the regeneration, and the latter ensured the cells could play the correct roles within the scaffold in the different periods to finalize regeneration and endow psychological functions. [12][13][14] Cell penetration and phenotype modulation are thought to be heavily depending on the scaffold's property because it provides the main environment for cell attachment, immigration, growth and proliferation. Although some methods such as adding growth factors can be used to modulate cell penetration and phenotype expression in vitro, the feasible method becomes very few in vivo.…”

Incorporation of fibrin into a collagen–glycosaminoglycan matrix results in a scaffold with improved mechanical properties and enhanced capacity to resist cell-mediated contraction

“…Over 7 days in unconstrained culture, the dimensions of the FCG scaffold did not change, showing an ability to resist cellular-induced contraction, while still maintaining cell viability. As collagen also forms the main component of a range of other tissue types within the body, the FCG scaffold presented has potential for applications in areas such as cartilage repair, wound healing and in applications where angiogenesis is important (Weinandy et al 2014) due to its mechanical properties and unique biological framework. We are currently focussing on cardiovascular applications for this material, specifically as a heart valve scaffold.…”

“…Fibrin is a naturally-occurring polymer involved in the wound-healing response. It can be extracted from the blood of a potential patient, creating a biocompatible, autologous material, whose peptide chains and integrin binding sites encourage cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and angiogenesis (Haisch et al 2000;Jockenhoevel et al 2001;Weinandy et al 2014). Fibrin can be used to encapsulate cells, creating a construct with a homogenous cell distribution and has been used in a range of applications including neural regeneration, wound healing, bone grafts, cartilage repair and cardiovascular applications (Ahmed et al 2008).…”

The fabrication of double layer tubular vascular tissue engineering scaffold via coaxial electrospinning and its 3D cell coculture

“…Although those scaffolds possessed excellent affinity toward the vascular cells including endothelial, smooth muscle, and fibroblast cells, and could promote the cells to attach, grow, and proliferate on the surface with good morphology, they can hardly perform as 3D scaffold to induce the seeded cells to infiltrate into the interior of the scaffold and proliferate inside the scaffold. As pointed out in literatures, in general TEVG cannot be successfully constructed without 3D scaffold because the regeneration of TEVG cannot be effectively carried out as the cells cannot penetrate the scaffold and take the responsibility of vessel regeneration inside the scaffold. For instance, a TEVG may fail due to the loss of mechanical property resulting from the scaffold degradation if SMCs cannot enter the scaffold wall and regenerate the necessary ECM to provide mechanical strength and keep integrity for the regenerating TEVG.…”