(10b) Bioengineered perfused human brain microvasculature for brain tumor and neural stem cell research

Blood vessels play an increasingly important role in most human tissue and organ systems. Importantly, vascular niche was found to be a key element of many stem cell environments such as neural stem cells and cancer stem cells. Vascular cells not only form conduits to deliver nutrient and oxygen, but also provide instructive signals to control stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, therefore, is critical for tissue regeneration. The mission of Vascular Bioengineering Laboratory is to integrate bioengineering approaches with stem cells and vascular biology to understand blood vessel regeneration and vascular disease processes, and to develop novel therapeutic modalities to treat vascular-related disorders such as cardiovascular, neurovascular and cancer. Toward this goal, our lab has developed the method to bioengineer human brain microvascular network consists of human brain endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocytes. We have shown that interstitial flow promotes lumen formation, interconnectivity and astrocytes association of the bioengineered vasculature and blood brain barrier functions. Furthermore, perfused bioengineered vasculature enhances neural stem cell self-renewal and neuronal differentiation and maturation. In this talk, I will present research projects on the bioengineer 3D human brain vascular network and its application in neural stem cell and brain tumor research.