VEGFA dependent endothelial lumen formation in scaffold-free tissue engineering: a hybrid in vitro and in silico approach to improve vascularization of tissue: Spheroid simulation data

Vascularization is a tightly regulated process involving a complex interplay of multiple bio-signaling events. Among these events, lumen formation is a crucial rate-limiting step in successful anastomosis of tissue engineered constructs in a host. We have developed scaffold-free endothelial-fibroblast based constructs with preformed microvessel networks that are a promising approach to rapid host-implant anastomosis. However, rapid formation of a continuous endothelial lumen within the microvessels remains elusive. We propose that pretreatment of these constructs with vascular endothelial growth factor A, a potent proangiogenic molecule, can improve large caliber lumen formation within constructs during in vitro self-assembly.

Here, we present a hybrid in vitro and in silico approach to evaluating endothelial-fibroblast spheroid self-assembly and the effects of VEGF-A on lumen formation. Our VEGF-A dosing experiments ultimately demonstrated that our endothelial cells responded to VEG...