Development of an advanced culture system for physiologically relevant 3D vascular modelling

Vascular tissue engineering aims to regenerate vessels "at the target site" using cell-free synthetic scaffolds that support endogenous regeneration. A critical challenge to the success of this process is maintaining the delicate balance between functional neo-tissue formation, hemodynamic stimuli, and scaffold degradation. To explore the biomechanisms underlying the interaction between these factors, we have developed an advanced in vitro culture system capable of replicating in vivo-like physiological wall shear stress and pulsatile pressure, as well as performing automatic cell seeding. In this study, we conducted biological experiments to validate the platform functionality, specifically performing cell seeding with different cell lines in both monoculture and coculture conditions within a vascular graft. This novel culture system will provide valuable insights into cell-graft interactions, synthetic scaffold colonization, and their response to hemodynamic cues.