Human vascular tissue fabrication using the co-culture of vascular cells

Abstract

Using a microfluidic-based core-shell nozzle, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) were coaxially and continuously printed without ultraviolet light. The core material was Type I collagen (3 mg/ml) including HUVECs and a crosslinking reagent (100 mM CaCl2). Simultaneously, a blend of 3 mg/ml type I collagen (25%) and 1.8 percent weight/volume sodium alginate (75%) was used as a shell material around the core. The HUVECs proliferated in the scaffold's core and reorganized themselves into a monolayer along the axial direction while the HASMCs showed more than 90% cell viability in the shell layer. Using an in-house micro connector, fluorescent microparticles were fed through the inner channel of the scaffold with the HUVEC core and HASMC shell. In growth factor-free media, this double-layered scaffold demonstrated more angiogenesis than the scaffold with simply a HUVEC core. Angiogenesis, extracellular matrix secretion, and outer diameter were all altered by the HASMCs in the shell layer. The developed method might be used to produce high-volume vascularized tissue using three-dimensional bioprinting.