Human fibroblast-derived ECM as a scaffold for vascular tissue engineering

The self-assembly approach is based on the capability of mesenchymal cells to secrete and organize their own extracellular matrix (ECM). This tissue engineering method allows for the fabrication of autologous living tissues, such as tissue-engineered blood vessels (TEBV) and skin. However, the secretion of ECM by smooth muscle cells (SMCs), required to produce the vascular media, may represent a long process in vitro. The aim of this work was to reduce the time required to produce a tissue-engineered vascular media (TEVM) and extend the production of TEVM with SMCs from all patients without compromising its mechanical and functional properties. Therefore, we developed a decellularized matrix scaffold (dMS) produced from dermal fibroblasts (DF) or saphenous vein fibroblasts (SVF), in which SMCs were seeded to produce a TEVM. Mechanical and contractile properties of these TEVM (referred to as nTEVM) were compared to standard self-assembled TEVM (sTEVM). This approach reduced the production time from 6 to 4 weeks. Moreover, nTEVM were more resistant to tensile load than sTEVM and their vascular reactivity was also improved. This new fabrication technique allows for the production of a vascular media using SMCs isolated from any patient, regardless of their capacity to synthesize ECM. Moreover, these scaffolds can be stored to be available when needed, in order to accelerate the production of the vascular substitute using autologous vascular cells.