Experimental approaches to vascularisation within tissue engineering constructs

Tissue engineering opens up a new area to restore the function of damaged tissue or replace a defective organ. Common strategies in tissue engineering to repair and form new tissue containing a functional vascular network include the use of cells, growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins, and biophysical stimuli. Yet, formation of well-distributed, interconnected, and stable vascular network still remains challenging. In addition, anastomoses with host vasculature upon implantation and long-time survival of the new blood vessel in vivo are other critical issues to be addressed. This paper presents a brief review of recent advances in vascularization in vitro as well as in vivo for tissue engineering, along with suggestions for future research.