Engineered adipose tissue supplied by functional microvessels

A volume-persistent culture of adipose tissue under in vivo conditions can be achieved only by early vascularization after cell transplantation. Cotransplantation of autologous preadipocytes with endothelial cells may enable the early formation of a capillary network. Investigations were performed in vivo in a specially adapted chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model. Fertilized White Leghorn eggs were incubated and opened on day 3 of incubation and human dermal microvascular endothelial cell (HDMVEC) spheroids and preadipocytes were transferred in a fibrin matrix to the CAM. On day 7 after incubation the composites were explanted and immunohistologically investigated. Numerous vessels consisting of HDMVECs could be detected and the lumena of these vessels were perfused by chick erythrocytes. These results show the formation of a capillary network consisting of transplanted HDMVECs. The microcirculation of chick erythrocytes in vessels consisting of human endothelial cells proves the continuity of a newly formed capillary system to the host vessel system. The experiments demonstrate the first patent connection of tissue-engineered microvessels in adipose tissue to a host vessel system without applying exogenous angiogenic growth factors or transient transfection. The cotransplantation of endothelial cell spheroids with angiogenic mesenchymal cells may lead to the engineering of complex three-dimensional implants.