Application of Cell Co-culture for Vascularizatin in Tissue Engineering

Abstract: The ultimate goal in the field of tissue engineering has always focused on constructing tissues that may biologically and functionally serve as a substitute for the organs of dysfunction. However， it is still a major challenge in creating thick and complex artificial tissues and cultivating long-lasting and sufficient vascular network in these tissues in vitro， which are capable of incorporating with the host抯 vascular network after transplantation and finally well perform their physiological function. Therefore， vascularization before transplantation plays a significant role in the survival of engineered tissues especially those that highly require sufficient blood supply such as liver， heart， and skeletal muscle. At the same time， new approaches involved in the notion of cell co-culture system aiming for inducing neovascularization before transplantation have been implemented in some laboratories and will be discussed in this review. Furthermore， recent data has showed that such a co-culture approach can effectively facilitate the formation of vessels， regulate the interaction between endothelial cells and mural cells， and promote signal transduction and ultimately the mature of vascular network.
    

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2007.03.0003