Tissue-engineered microvessels on three-dimensional biodegradable scaffolds using human endothelial progenitor cells

作者：Xiao Wei Wu, Elena Aïkawa, Kristine J. Guleserian, Tjörvi E. Perry, Yutaka Masuda, Fraser W. H. Sutherland, Frederick J. Schöen, John Eleanor Mayer, Joyce E. Bischoff · 发表于：American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology · 年份：2004 · DOI：10.1152/ajpheart.01232.2003 · 被引用次数：232 · 研究领域：Angiogenesis and VEGF in Cancer、3D Printing in Biomedical Research、Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications

Tissue engineering may offer patients new options when replacement or repair of an organ is needed. However, most tissues will require a microvascular network to supply oxygen and nutrients. One strategy for creating a microvascular network would be promotion of vasculogenesis in situ by seeding vascular progenitor cells within the biopolymeric construct. To pursue this strategy, we isolated CD34(+)/CD133(+) endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) from human umbilical cord blood and expanded the cells ex vivo as EPC-derived endothelial cells (EC). The EPC lost expression of the stem cell marker CD133 but continued to express the endothelial markers KDR/VEGF-R2, VE-cadherin, CD31, von Willebrand factor, and E-selectin. The cells were also shown to mediate calcium-dependent adhesion of HL-60 cells, a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line, providing evidence for a proinflammatory endothelial phenotype. The EPC-derived EC maintained this endothelial phenotype when expanded in roller bottles and subsequently seeded on polyglycolic acid-poly-l-lactic acid (PGA-PLLA) scaffolds, but microvessel formation was not observed. In contrast, EPC-derived EC seeded with human smooth muscle cells formed capillary-like structures throughout the scaffold (76.5 +/- 35 microvessels/mm(2)). These results indicate that 1) EPC-derived EC can be expanded in vitro and seeded on biodegradable scaffolds with preservation of endothelial phenotype and 2) EPC-derived EC seeded with human smooth muscle cells for...