Biomimetic Strategies for Vascular Tissue Engineering

Biomimetic strategies for vascular tissue engineering seek to replicate the hierarchical structure, mechanical properties and biochemical cues of native blood vessels to guide the formation of functional vasculature in engineered constructs. Central to this endeavour is the design of extracellular matrices that dynamically interact with endothelial and supporting cells, providing optimal stiffness, degradability and ligand presentation to balance cell–matrix adhesion and cell–cell cohesion. Advanced hydrogels and synthetic matrices now permit fine tuning of mechanical plasticity and spatial patterning, enabling collective endothelial invasion, lumen formation and perfusable network assembly. The incorporation of mechanical stimuli, such as cyclic stretch and fluid shear, alongside biochemical factors like growth-factor gradients, furthers vessel maturation and stabilisation. These approaches address critical challenges in regenerative medicine by promoting rapid vascular integration in grafts, reducing ischaemic injury and facilitating organ modelling for drug delivery and disease studies on a global scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated that tuning hydrogel plasticity to a medium level maximises endothelial cell tubular lumen size and invasion depth by balancing integrin clustering and adherens junction stability. Excessive plasticity, while promoting matrix remodelling, can destabilise cell–cell contacts through over‐enhanced contractility. In parallel, microfluidic platforms with hydrogels of adjustable adhesiveness and degradability have revealed that long, perfusable lumens only emerge when materials simultaneously support collective endothelial sprouting and permit matrix breakdown. These findings converge on the principle that dynamic reciprocity between cells and matrix mechanics is essential for constructive vascular assembly and the formation of functional microvascular networks.

Biomimetic Strategies for Vascular Tissue Engineering publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in biomimetic strategies for vascular tissue engineering across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Hydrogel plasticity: The capacity of a hydrogel to undergo permanent deformation under mechanical force, influencing matrix remodelling and multicellular vessel assembly.

Dynamic reciprocity: The bidirectional communication between cells and their extracellular matrix, whereby cellular forces modify matrix properties and the altered matrix regulates cell behaviour.

Mechanotransduction: The process through which cells sense and convert mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals, often via focal adhesions and pathways involving transcriptional regulators like YAP.

Perfusable lumen: A hollow, fluid-conducting channel formed within a tissue-engineered construct that mimics the continuous passageway of native blood vessels.

References

1. Hydrogels with tunable mechanical plasticity regulate endothelial cell outgrowth in vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Synthetic extracellular matrices with tailored adhesiveness and degradability support lumen formation during angiogenic sprouting. Nature Communications (2021).
3. Emergent mechanical control of vascular morphogenesis. Science Advances (2023).
4. Mechanical strategies to promote vascularization for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Burns & Trauma (2024).
5. Fibroblasts alter the physical properties of dermal ECM-derived hydrogels to create a pro-angiogenic microenvironment. Materials Today Bio (2023).