title: Elderly Patient-Derived Endothelial Cells for Vascularization of Engineered Muscle.
abstract: In vitro prevascularization of engineered tissue constructs promises to enhance their clinical applicability. We hypothesize that adult endothelial cells (ECs), isolated from limb veins of elderly patients, bear the vasculogenic properties required to form vascular networks in vitro that can later integrate with the host vasculature upon implantation. Here, we show that adult ECs formed vessel networks that were more developed and complex than those formed by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) seeded with various supporting cells on three-dimensional (3D) biodegradable polymer scaffolds. In parallel, secreted levels of key proangiogenic cytokines were significantly higher in adult EC-bearing scaffolds as compared to HUVEC scaffolds. As a proof of concept for applicability of this model, adult ECs were co-seeded with human myoblasts as well as supporting cells and successfully formed a branched network, which was surrounded by aligned human myotubes. The vascularized engineered muscle tissue implanted into a full-thickness defect in immunodeficient mice remained viable and anastomosed with the host vasculature within 9 days of implantation. Functional "chimeric" blood vessels and various types of anastomosis were observed. These findings provide strong evidence of the applicability of adult ECs in construction of clinically relevant autologous vascularized tissue.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel; Inter-departmental Program in Biotechnology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Luba
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Moshe Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Flugelman
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. Electronic address: shulamit@bm.technion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Shulamit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Levenberg
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D006085:Graft Survival; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; D006801:Humans; D055442:Metabolome; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000098:blood supply*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines
keywords: cell therapy; endothelial cells; neovascularization; tissue engineering