Construction of vascular graft with circumferentially oriented microchannels for improving artery regeneration

Pingli Wu, Lina Wang, Wen Li, Yu Zhang, Yifan Wu, Dengke Zhi, Hongjun Wang, Lianyong Wang, Deling Kong, Meifeng Zhu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

69 Scopus citations

Abstract

Design and fabrication of scaffolds with three-dimensional (3D) topological cues inducing regeneration of the neo-tissue comparable to native one remains a major challenge in both scientific and clinical fields. Here, we developed a well-designed vascular graft with 3D highly interconnected and circumferentially oriented microchannels by using the sacrificial sugar microfiber leaching method. The microchannels structure was capable of promoting the migration, oriented arrangement, elongation, and the contractile phenotype expression of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in vitro. After implantation into the rat aorta defect model, the microchannels in vascular grafts simultaneously improved the infiltration and aligned arrangement of VSMCs and the oriented deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), as well as the recruitment and polarization of macrophages. These positive results also provided protection and support for ECs growth, and ultimately accelerated the endothelialization. Our research provides a new strategy for the fabrication of grafts with the capability of inducing arterial regeneration, which could be further extended to apply in preparing other kinds of oriented scaffolds aiming to guide oriented tissue in situ regeneration.

Original languageEnglish
Article number119922
JournalBiomaterials
Volume242
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2020

Keywords

  • Circumferentially oriented microchannels
  • Melt-spinning
  • Sugar template leaching method
  • Vascular grafts
  • Vascular smooth muscle cells regeneration

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