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Updated: Apr 1, 2026
Generation and Grafting of Tissue-engineered Vessels in a Mouse Model
Published on: March 18, 2015
Bilayered vascular graft derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells with biomimetic structure and function
Karina H Nakayama1,2,3, Prajakta A Joshi3,4, Edwina S Lai5
1Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Background:
We developed an aligned bi-layered vascular graft derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that recapitulates the cellular composition, orientation, and anti-inflammatory function of blood vessels.
Materials & Methods:
The luminal layer consisted of longitudinal-aligned nanofibrillar collagen containing primary endothelial cells (ECs) or iPSC-derived ECs (iPSC-ECs). The outer layer contained circumferentially oriented nanofibrillar collagen with primary smooth muscle cells (SMCs) or iPSC-derived SMCs(iPSC-SMCs).
Results:
On the aligned scaffolds, cells organized F-actin assembly within 8º from the direction of nanofibrils. When compared to randomly-oriented scaffolds, EC-seeded aligned scaffolds had significant reduced inflammatory response, based on adhesivity to monocytes.
Conclusion:
This study highlights the importance of anisotropic scaffolds in directing cell form and function, and has therapeutic significance as physiologically relevant blood vessels.
