title: Combining cell sheet technology and electrospun scaffolding for engineered tubular, aligned, and contractile blood vessels.
abstract: Herein we combine cell sheet technology and electrospun scaffolding to rapidly generate circumferentially aligned tubular constructs of human aortic smooth muscles cells with contractile gene expression for use as tissue engineered blood vessel media. Smooth muscle cells cultured on micropatterned and N-isopropylacrylamide-grafted (pNIPAm) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a small portion of which was covered by aligned electrospun scaffolding, resulted in a single sheet of unidirectionally aligned cells. Upon cooling to room temperature, the scaffold, its adherent cells, and the remaining cell sheet detached and were collected on a mandrel to generating tubular constructs with circumferentially aligned smooth muscle cells which possess contractile gene expression and a single layer of electrospun scaffold as an analogue to a small diameter blood vessel's internal elastic lamina (IEL). This method improves cell sheet handling, results in rapid circumferential alignment of smooth muscle cells which immediately express contractile genes, and introduction of an analogue to small diameter blood vessel IEL.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore.
authors.forename: Shahrzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rayatpisheh
authors.affiliation: Biosystems and Micromechanics IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, 1 CREATE Way, Singapore 138602, Singapore.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Heath
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shakouri
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore.
authors.forename: Pim-On
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Rujitanaroj
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore.
authors.forename: Sing Yian
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore. Electronic address: mbechan@ntu.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Mary B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Chan-Park
mesh_terms: D000178:Acrylamides / Q000494:pharmacology; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013696:Temperature; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000178:Acrylamides; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; C067295:N-isopropylacrylamide
keywords: Cardiovascular tissue engineering; Cell sheet engineering; Contractile phenotype; Electrospinning; NIPAm