Cerebral Organoids with Integrated Endothelial Networks Emulate the Neurovascular Unit and Mitigate Core Necrosis.

ABSTRACT: Cerebral organoids (COs) are multicellular, self-organized, in vitro, 3D brain-like tissues used for developmental biology, disease modelling, and drug screening. However, their lack of vascularity renders them less physiologically accurate. Vascularization of COs remains challenging due to the different requirements between COs and vascular cells, limited vascular network penetration within the organoid, and the absence of luminal perfusion. Here, an encapsulation approach is devised in which human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMVECs) are delivered to developing COs from progressively degrading extracellular matrix (ECM)-based hydrogel droplets. By tuning this hydrogel concentration and media composition, an enhanced vascular-like network formation is observed, expanding within

SUBMITTER: Fumado Navarro J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12631921 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature