Targeted cell deposition for lung re-endothelialization

Abstract

We created computational fluid dynamic models of murine lung vasculature to assess the quantity and quality of cell deposition for lung re-endothelialization under three cell seeding protocols. These protocols include the standard direct injection seeding, negative pressure seeding, and a novel dual boundary condition seeding protocol. Our results indicate that cell seeding efficiencies are similar between the direct injection and negative pressure seeding protocols. The dual boundary condition protocol, which utilizes the direct injection of cell media with the addition of a prescribed pressure boundary condition at the parenchyma, exhibited increased cell deposition efficiencies of up to 14% compared to the direct injection and negative pressure cases, as well as the ability to target cell deposition in specific (i.e., proximal and distal) regions of the lung vasculature. This novel dual boundary condition protocol has the potential to increase cell seeding efficiencies during scaffold recellularization, addressing a significant challenge in the field of lung bioengineering.