Department of Biochemical Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Surrey;
Department of Biochemical Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Surrey.
J Vis Exp. 2023 Jul 28(197). doi: 10.3791/65465.
Vascular disease forms the basis of most cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which remain the primary cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Efficacious surgical and pharmacological interventions to prevent and treat vascular disease are urgently needed. In part, the shortage of translational models limits the understanding of the cellular and molecular processes involved in vascular disease. Ex vivo perfusion culture bioreactors provide an ideal platform for the study of large animal vessels (including humans) in a controlled dynamic environment, combining the ease of in vitro culture and the complexity of the live tissue. Most bioreactors are, however, custom manufactured and therefore difficult to adopt, limiting the reproducibility of the results. This paper presents a 3D printed system that can be easily produced and applied in any biological lab, and provides a detailed protocol for its setup, enabling users' operation. This innovative and reproducible ex vivo perfusion culture system enables the culture of blood vessels for up to 7 days in physiological conditions. We expect that adopting a standardized perfusion bioreactor will support a better understanding of physiological and pathological processes in large animal blood vessels and accelerate the discovery of new therapeutics.
血管疾病是大多数心血管疾病（CVD）的基础，这些疾病仍然是全球死亡和发病的主要原因。迫切需要有效的手术和药物干预措施来预防和治疗血管疾病。部分原因是，转化模型的缺乏限制了对血管疾病相关细胞和分子过程的理解。离体灌注培养生物反应器为在受控动态环境中研究大型动物血管（包括人类）提供了理想的平台，结合了体外培养的简便性和活体组织的复杂性。然而，大多数生物反应器都是定制制造的，因此难以采用，限制了结果的可重复性。本文介绍了一种 3D 打印系统，该系统易于生产，可在任何生物实验室中应用，并提供了详细的设置方案，方便用户操作。这种创新且可重复的离体灌注培养系统可在生理条件下培养血管长达 7 天。我们预计，采用标准化的灌注生物反应器将有助于更好地理解大动物血管的生理和病理过程，并加速新疗法的发现。
