Microvascular Fragments: More Than Just Natural Vascularization Units

• Published in: Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2021-01, Vol.39 (1), p.24-33
• Main Authors: Laschke, Matthias W., Später, Thomas, Menger, Michael D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; Angiogenesis; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Blood vessels; Cells (biology); Collagen; Cultivation; Diabetes; Endothelium; Fragments; Growth factors; Hydrogels; Immunomodulation; lymphangiogenesis; Mesenchyme; microvascular fragments; Microvasculature; Morphology; Osseointegration; Physiology; Precision medicine; Progenitor cells; Regeneration; Stem cells; Stromal cells; Surgical implants; Tissue engineering; Transplants & implants; Vascularization
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.06.001

Adipose tissue–derived microvascular fragments serve as natural vascularization units in angiogenesis research and tissue engineering due to their ability to rapidly reassemble into microvascular networks. Recent studies indicate that they exhibit additional unique properties that may be beneficial for a wide range of future biomedical applications. Their angiogenic activity can be increased during short-term cultivation as a means of adapting their vascularization capacity to patient-specific needs. Moreover, they are a source of endothelial progenitor cells, multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells, and lymphatic vessel fragments. Finally, they exert immunomodulatory effects, determining the tissue integration of implanted biomaterials. Hence, microvascular fragments represent versatile building blocks for the improvement of vascularization, organotypic tissue formation, lymphatic regeneration, and implant integration. Microvascular fragments represent natural vascularization units that rapidly reassemble into new, blood-perfused microvascular networks after their transfer into tissue defects.Microvascular fragments can be stored for short and long time periods, and their vascularization capacity can be increased by exposure to physical and biochemical stimuli.Microvascular fragments contain significant amounts of stem cells that reside within their physiological niche and thus may be used as the only source for the generation of vascularized tissue-specific substitutes.Microvascular fragment isolates are a source of lymphatic vessel fragments for lymphatic tissue engineering and lymphedema therapy.The immune cells in microvascular fragment isolates fulfill an immunomodulatory function that determines the biocompatibility and tissue integration of implanted biomaterials.