Multilayered Engineered Tissue Sheets for Vascularized Tissue Regeneration

Area of Science:

• Tissue Engineering
• Biomaterials Science
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Vascularization is a critical challenge for engineering thick and laminated tissues, such as skin.
• Existing methods face limitations in achieving adequate blood vessel integration within engineered constructs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a strategy for generating multi-layered engineered tissue sheets with improved vascularization.
• To investigate the role of endothelial cells in promoting vessel formation within engineered tissue constructs.

Main Methods:

• Co-seeding fibroblasts and endothelial cells on micro-fibrous, biodegradable polycaprolactone membranes.
• Constructing multi-layered tissue sheets (3-11 layers) for in vivo implantation.
• Analyzing cell survival, vascularization, and blood vessel formation post-implantation.

Main Results:

• Addition of endothelial cell sheets enhanced cell incorporation and primitive vessel growth.
• High endothelial cell seeding density improved cell survival and vascularization in 11-layered constructs after 4 weeks.
• Red blood cells were detected in 3-layered constructs within 1 week, indicating early vascularization.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method facilitates engineered tissue vascularization and enhances cell survival.
• This approach offers advantages for handling, manipulation, and versatile regeneration of thick tissues.
• The strategy enables automated thick tissue generation with controlled vascularization for various applications.