3D blood vessels

Scientists have built 3D blood vessels that can effectively support artificial organs.

>>>Medical breakthrough: culturing blood vessel walls

Cultivating artificial organs may help solve the shortage of implants, but a major barrier still exists, which is very difficult for blood vessels to grow through an entire organ.

A new gel allows blood vessels to grow in the correct shape and react to human cells in a way similar to natural blood vessels that can help speed up the process.

Blood vessel

According to New Scientist, expert Ying Zheng of Washington University in Seattle (USA) and colleagues injected human endothelial cells, which function to lining blood vessels, into microscopic channels inside a type. glue collagen.

Endothelial cells disperse along channels that are only a few micrometers wide and form hollow three-dimensional tubes, or blood vessels.

When the team pumped blood into the system, blood travels along these blood vessels without sticking. Even blood can flow smoothly when breaking this microchip at a 90 degree angle.

The researchers then added a series of proteins related to inflammation. They found that these proteins cause blood to clot inside the blood vessels, like what happens in the human body.

According to expert Zheng, because the system reacts to stimuli in a way similar to a natural system, one day they may become useful for drug screening.

When the team injected brain and human muscle cells into the gel along with vascular stimulating proteins, blood vessels showed that they could branch and merge with the two types of tissue.