Engineering Niches for Blood Vessel Regeneration
Although there is a vast amount of literature describing molecular cues governing vascular maturation, recreating vascular networks for therapeutic application, specific to a variety of tissue and organ sites, remains elusive. To address this issue, the field of tissue engineering has emerged. This highly interdisciplinary field merges chemical and biomedical engineering principles with material sciences and biology to recapitulate complex stem cell niches. This chapter focuses on discussing the building blocks necessary to mimic the vascular microenvironment including the promise of stem cell technology as a cellular source, as well as chemical and mechanical cues present in development and adult physiology. The subsequent sections describe the design criteria and synthesis of biomaterials, as well as engineering tools to recapitulate the vascular niche. Finally, the potential clinical impact of these approaches and how they are utilized for in vivo systems are explored.
