Strategies for improved endothelial cell adhesion in microphysiological vascular model systems
Fig 5
Gradual ramping perfusion promotes endothelium stability and rapid start perfusion causes endothelial cell loss.
(A) Shear stress applied to each TEBV over a 3-hour period of flow application. The graph on the left shows a rapid increase to a steady shear stress, while the graph on the right illustrates a stepwise increase in shear stress. (B) Evaluation of circumferential EC coverage between TEBVs with different rotation periods and flow application methods. TEBVs in the 24h perfusion groups were subjected to the two different perfusion schemes after EC seeding. n = 3 TEBVs. Data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, and no significant differences were observed. (C) Representative images of TEBV cross-sections injected with RFP-HUVECs at the density of 1.5 105 ECs/cm2 and rotated for 12 hours. After 7 days perfusion at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min per TEBV (0.4 Pa shear stress), no EC signal was observed in the rapid start group. Scale bar: 200 µm. (D) TEBVs subjected to a gradual increase in perfusion exhibit greater circumferential EC coverage when compared to the group with rapid initiation of perfusion after 7 days. Significance was determined by Student’s t-test. mean ± S.D., n = 3, 4 TEBVs. **P < 0.01. The raw data used to generate this figure are provided in Supporting Information S4 Data.