title: "Do-it-yourself in vitro vasculature that recapitulates in vivo geometries for investigating endothelial-blood cell interactions".
abstract: Investigating biophysical cellular interactions in the circulation currently requires choosing between in vivo models, which are difficult to interpret due in part to the hemodynamic and geometric complexities of the vasculature; or in vitro systems, which suffer from non-physiologic assumptions and/or require specialized microfabrication facilities and expertise. To bridge that gap, we developed an in vitro "do-it-yourself" perfusable vasculature model that recapitulates in vivo geometries, such as aneurysms, stenoses, and bifurcations, and supports endothelial cell culture. These inexpensive, disposable devices can be created rapidly (<2 hours) with high precision and repeatability, using standard off-the-shelf laboratory supplies. Using these "endothelialized" systems, we demonstrate that spatial variation in vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) expression correlates with the wall shear stress patterns of vascular geometries. We further observe that the presence of endothelial cells in stenoses reduces platelet adhesion but increases sickle cell disease (SCD) red blood cell (RBC) adhesion in bifurcations. Overall, our method enables researchers from all disciplines to study cellular interactions in physiologically relevant, yet simple-to-make, in vitro vasculature models.
authors.affiliation: 1] Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University [2] Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology [3] Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, Aflac Cancer &Blood Disorders Center [4] Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Mannino
authors.affiliation: 1] Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University [2] Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology [3] Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, Aflac Cancer &Blood Disorders Center [4] Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: 1] Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University [2] Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology [3] Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, Aflac Cancer &Blood Disorders Center [4] Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: Byungwook
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: 1] Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University [2] Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology [3] Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, Aflac Cancer &Blood Disorders Center [4] Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: Yichen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1] Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University [2] Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, Aflac Cancer &Blood Disorders Center [3] Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.lastname: Margo Rollins
authors.affiliation: 1] Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University [2] Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology [3] Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: Hope
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gole
authors.affiliation: 1] Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology [2] School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Angela S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: 1] Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology [2] School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Guldberg
authors.affiliation: Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.
authors.forename: Don P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Giddens
authors.affiliation: 1] Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University [2] Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology [3] Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine.
authors.forename: Lucas H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Timmins
authors.affiliation: 1] Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University [2] Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology [3] Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, Aflac Cancer &Blood Disorders Center [4] Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: Wilbur A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D032701:Biomimetics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices