A bioengineered lymphatic vessel model for studying lymphatic endothelial cell-cell junction and barrier function.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Lymphatic vessels (LVs) maintain fluid homeostasis by draining interstitial fluid. A failure in lymphatic drainage triggers lymphatic diseases such as lymphedema. Since lymphatic drainage is regulated by lymphatic barrier function, developing experimental models that assess lymphatic barrier function is critical for better understanding of lymphatic physiology and disease.

Methods

We built a lymphatic vessel-on-chip (LV-on-chip) by fabricating a microfluidic device that includes a hollow microchannel embedded in three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel. Employing luminal flow in the microchannel, human lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) seeded in the microchannel formed an engineered LV exhibiting 3D conduit structure.

Results

Lymphatic endothelial cells formed relat

SUBMITTER: Henderson AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9274261 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature