Emulating Early Atherosclerosis in a Vascular Microphysiological System Using Branched Tissue-Engineered Blood Vessels.

ABSTRACT: Atherosclerosis begins with the accumulation of cholesterol-carrying lipoproteins on blood vessel walls and progresses to endothelial cell dysfunction, monocyte adhesion, and foam cell formation. Endothelialized tissue-engineered blood vessels (TEBVs) have previously been fabricated to recapitulate artery functionalities, including vasoconstriction, vasodilation, and endothelium activation. Here, the initiation of atherosclerosis is emulated by designing branched TEBVs (brTEBVs) of various geometries treated with enzyme-modified low-density-lipoprotein (eLDL) and TNF-α to induce endothelial cell dysfunction and adhesion of perfused human monocytes. Locations of monocyte adhesion under pulsatile flow are identified, and the hemodynamics in the brTEBVs are characterized using particle image

SUBMITTER: Lee JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9951769 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature