3D printing of vascular structures from vascular wall-resident stem cells (B04)

• Subject Area: Biomaterials
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 326998133

Aim of this project is the biofabrication of artificial vascular structures with correct hierarchical organization and wall morphology consisting of intima, media and adventitia. This shall be reached by the exploitation of the cellular plasticity of vascular wall-resident stem cells (VW-SCs). These cells have been shown to possess the necessary cellular plasticity to deliver such structures. By printing of VW-SC loaded bioinks into self-healing support gels, the use of vessel wall specific matrix components and perfusion of the structures, we aim on a medium to long term to biofabricate complex and hierarchically organized vascular structures.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 225: From the fundamentals of biofabrication towards functional tissue models
• Applicant Institution: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Süleyman Ergün; Professor Dr. Jürgen Groll