Tissue engineering of a collagen-based vascular media: Demonstration of functionality

The property of vasoactivity is important for both resistance vessels and larger arteries. Evaluation of smooth muscle cell phenotype is often done in place of functional testing in engineered tissues, assuming a direct correlation between cell phenotype and tissue contractile force. In this study we look at a large panel of vasoactive agents to determine the functionality of our collagen-based tissue. The engineered vascular media elicited a measurable change in force in response to seven of the nine agents used. As part of this characterization, TGF-β1 and TNF-α were used to promote a more contractile and synthetic cell phenotype respectively. Both smooth muscle α-actin and vasoconstriction were evaluated in ring sections. Due to large differences in cell-compaction and cell distribution in the tissues, no correlation was found between α-actin expression and contractile strength. This highlights the need for functional testing of engineered tissue and the importance of cell-matrix interactions in vasoactivity.