Vascularization of engineered organoids

Abstract

Organoids are biomimetic tissue analogs that are generated via the self-organization of stem cells or adult cells relying on developmental biology principles. They present tissue-specific structures and functional complexity, bridging the gap between planar cell culture and animal models to accelerate the applications of drug testing, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, the current organoids are still limited in long-term culture, maturation, complexities and functionalities due largely to the lack of vascularization in the analogs. Herein, we give an overview of the latest development of vascularization in the organoid field. We first provide two typical strategies of self-assembly and engineering to perform and realize the vascularization in engineering organoids, as well as the crucial factors affecting vasculogenesis. Then, we describe the representative applications using vascularized organoids in biomedical fields. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future perspectives in the development of advanced biomaterials and modified approaches toward building vascularized organoids with higher fidelity and functionality.