Macro, Micro, and Everything in Between. Bridging the Gap: A Vision Toward the Creation of Multiscale Vascular Networks

Abstract

Vascularization is a key issue for the clinical translation of tissue engineering strategies. This has been recognized in the field for almost two decades. Several strategies to solve this issue are proposed but none has decisively tackled the problem. This is in part due to an excessive focus on microvascularization that ignores the need of having macrovessels capable of being surgically connected to the patient's circulation upon implantation. Indeed, a strategy for macrovessel engineering must co‐exist with a strategy for microvessels. And if this is true, all the intermediate scales have to be addressed as well. Therefore, multiscale vascular networks must be the focus of tissue engineering vascularization efforts. In this work, a reflection is made on a possible path forward for researchers and engineers in the field to achieve the ultimate goal of efficient vascularization of engineered tissues and organs.

Technology for the formation of engineered microvascular network models and their biomedical applications

“…This process mimics angiogenesis in the body, where new blood vessels sprout from existing ones. However, cell migration and invasion are slow processes, and they do not control the location and geometry of the microvascular network, resulting in poor reproducibility [ 27 , 28 ].…”