Pinnock Cameron B, Xu Zhengfan, Lam Mai T
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University; Cardiovascular Research Institute, Wayne State University;
J Vis Exp. 2017 Mar 27(121):55322. doi: 10.3791/55322.
Coronary artery disease remains a leading cause of death, affecting millions of Americans. With the lack of autologous vascular grafts available, engineered grafts offer great potential for patient treatment. However, engineered vascular grafts are generally not easily scalable, requiring manufacture of custom molds or polymer tubes in order to customize to different sizes, constituting a time-consuming and costly practice. Human arteries range in lumen diameter from about 2.0-38 mm and in wall thickness from about 0.5-2.5 mm. We have created a method, termed the "Ring Stacking Method," in which variable size rings of tissue of the desired cell type, demonstrated here with vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), can be created using guides of center posts to control lumen diameter and outer shells to dictate vessel wall thickness. These tissue rings are then stacked to create a tubular construct, mimicking the natural form of a blood vessel. The vessel length can be tailored by simply stacking the number of rings required to constitute the length needed. With our technique, tissues of tubular forms, similar to a blood vessel, can be readily manufactured in a variety of dimensions and lengths to meet the needs of the clinic and patient.
冠状动脉疾病仍然是主要的死亡原因，影响着数百万美国人。由于缺乏可用的自体血管移植物，工程化移植物为患者治疗提供了巨大潜力。然而，工程化血管移植物通常不易扩大规模，需要制造定制模具或聚合物管以适应不同尺寸，这是一种耗时且成本高昂的做法。人类动脉的管腔直径约为2.0 - 38毫米，壁厚约为0.5 - 2.5毫米。我们创建了一种方法，称为“环堆叠法”，其中可以使用中心柱导向器控制管腔直径，并用外壳决定血管壁厚度，从而制造出所需细胞类型的不同大小的组织环，这里以血管平滑肌细胞（SMC）为例进行说明。然后将这些组织环堆叠起来形成管状结构，模仿血管的自然形态。通过简单地堆叠构成所需长度所需的环数，就可以调整血管长度。利用我们的技术，可以轻松制造出各种尺寸和长度的类似血管的管状组织，以满足临床和患者的需求。
