Strategies for the vascular patterning of engineered tissues for organ repair

Abstract

The loss of organ function following traumatic injury is often irreversible and the demand for organ replacements continues to exceed supply. This discrepancy has driven the development of therapies and engineered tissues for the repair or replacement of damaged tissues. However, the survival of engineered tissues is constrained by the challenge of establishing a functional vasculature. Efforts have therefore focused on strategies that induce vascularization in tissue implants or stimulate vascular growth in recipients of the therapies. Here we discuss recent advances in vascular biology, biomaterials chemistry and 3D printing techniques for vascular patterning in engineered tissues. For tissue regeneration to be clinically viable, vascular formation must be guided across scales ranging from micrometres to millimetres through biological, chemical and physical approaches.