De novo adipose formation in a vascularized engineered construct.
While the field of tissue engineering is a burgeoning one, progress with fat engineering has lagged, due in large part to problems associated with nurturing and sustaining this unique tissue in vivo. In a pilot study using an experimental rat model, we induced liponeogenesis with a combination of Matrigel and basic fibroblast growth factor in an fibrovascular scaffold, isolating the construct to a pedicled blood supply (the superficial inferior epigastric vessels) via a silicone housing, creating an engineered three-dimensional adipose tissue construct. Adipose tissue and vascular ingrowth were assessed histologically and followed by serial study at 4-week intervals for 16 weeks. We demonstrated persistence of shaped adipose tissue constructs over time, and postulate that incorporating a vascular supply may enhance the durability of experimentally induced fat constructs and potentially provide a means for microsurgical transfer of the construct.
Walton
Robert L
RL
Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Beahm
Elisabeth K
EK
Wu
Liza
L
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D000818:Animals; D021522:Bioartificial Organs; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011923:Rats, Nude; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012828:Silicones / Q000737:chemistry; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting
D012828:Silicones