%0 Journal Article
%T Promoting external inosculation of prevascularised tissue constructs by pre-cultivation in an angiogenic extracellular matrix
%A MW Laschke
%A H Mussawy
%A S Schuler
%A D Eglin
%J European Cells and Materials (ECM)
%D 2010
%I 
%X The engineering of preformed microvessels offers the promising opportunity to rapidly vascularise implanted tissue constructs by the process of inosculation. Herein, we analyzed whether this process may further be accel-erated by cultivation of prevascularised tissue constructs in Matrigel before implantation. Nano-size hydroxyapatite particles/poly(ester-urethane) scaffolds were implanted into the flank of FVB/N-TgN (Tie2/GFP) 287 Sato mice to allow the ingrowth of a granulation tissue with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-positive blood vessels. After harvesting, these prevascularised constructs were then transferred into dorsal skinfold chambers of FVB/N recipient mice to study the process of inosculation. The constructs were implanted directly after embedding in Matrigel or after 3 days of cultivation in the extracellular matrix. Matrigel-free constructs served as control. Cultivation in Matrigel resulted in the outgrowth of CD31/GFP-positive vascular sprouts. Vascularisation of these constructs was markedly improved when compared to the other two groups, as indicated by a significantly elevated functional microvessel density between days 6 to 14 after implantation into the dorsal skinfold chamber. This was associated with an increased number of GFP-positive blood vessels growing into the surrounding host tissue. Thus, the blood supply to prevascularised tissue constructs can be accelerated by their pre-cultivation in an angiogenic extracellular matrix, promoting external inosculation of the preformed microvascular networks with the host microvasculature.
%K Tissue engineering
%K inosculation
%K scaffold
%K Matrigel
%K vascularisation
%K angiogenesis
%K dorsal skinfold chamber
%K intravital fluorescence microscopy
%U http://www.ecmjournal.org/journal/papers/vol020/pdf/v020a29.pdf