Engineered microvascular basement membrane mimetic for real-time neutrophil tracking in the microvascular wall.

ABSTRACT: The microvascular basement membrane (mvBM) is crucial in maintaining vascular integrity and function and, therefore, key to the health of major organs. However, the complex nature and the intricate interplay of biochemical and biomechanical factors that regulate the mvBM functional dynamics make it difficult to study. Here, we present a novel and highly tunable in vitro model of the human mvBM, enabling a bottom-up approach to assemble a composite model of the microvascular wall and explore microvascular dynamics and interactions with circulating neutrophils in real time. An electrospun polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based fibrillar network mimics the mvBM with adjustable nanofiber diameter, orientation, and density. The fidelity of the model to the human mvBM's topography and mechanics was ver

SUBMITTER: Morales LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12284441 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature