Spatial Configurations of 3D Extracellular Matrix Collagen Density and Anisotropy Simultaneously Guide Angiogenesis
Fig 5
Predictions of microvascular growth in response to spatial anisotropy gradients.
Simulations were performed with microvessels seeded on the proximal (left) end of a rectilinear domain. Growth was simulated across an isotropic matrix (baseline) or a matrix characterized by a positive or negative anisotropy gradient. Local matrix alignment is indicated by ellipsoidal glyphs above each representative image with the color indicating the anisotropy (blue: low; red: high). Microvessels in the baseline model failed to reach the distal region after 12 days. Anisotropy gradients resulted in increased vascularization of the middle and distal regions. A negative anisotropy gradient resulted in the most vascularization in the middle region, although there was no difference in vascularization of the distal region between gradient cases (1 way ANOVA with Sidakholm post hoc. *: p<0.05 w.r.t baseline; @: p<0.05 post hoc pairwise comparison).