Description du projet
Une nouvelle vascularisation par génie biologique pour des transplantations «prêtes à l’emploi»
Les lits capillaires sont une partie fondamentale du système circulatoire qui transporte l’oxygène et les nutriments vers les cellules et les tissus et évacue les déchets nocifs. Sans eux, le sang circulerait dans le corps comme un train de marchandises qui ne s’arrête jamais aux gares pour la collecte ni la livraison. De nombreux progrès ont été réalisés dans la «construction» de tissus et d’organes destinés à la transplantation, mais induire une vascularisation essentielle, de manière à ce que ces tissus et organes soient viables après la transplantation, reste un défi. Le projet CapBed, financé par l’UE, développera des lits capillaires par génie biologique capables d’induire une vascularisation dans des organes produits en laboratoire, leur permettant d’être connectés à l’approvisionnement en sang du patient lors de la transplantation, de sorte que les nouveaux organes prennent un départ sain.
Objectif
The demand for donated organs vastly outnumbers the supply, leading each year to the death of thousands of people and the suffering of millions more. Engineered tissues and organs following Tissue Engineering approaches are a possible solution to this problem. However, a prevascularization solution to irrigate complex engineered tissues and assure their survival after transplantation is currently elusive. In the human body, complex organs and tissues irrigation is achieved by a network of blood vessels termed capillary bed which suggests such a structure is needed in engineered tissues. Previous approaches to engineer capillary beds reached different levels of success but none yielded a fully functional one due to the inability in simultaneously addressing key elements such as correct angiogenic cell populations, a suitable matrix and dynamic conditions that mimic blood flow.
CapBed aims at proposing a new technology to fabricate in vitro capillary beds that include a vascular axis that can be anastomosed with a patient circulation. Such capillary beds could be used as prime tools to prevascularize in vitro engineered tissues and provide fast perfusion of those after transplantation to a patient. Cutting edge techniques will be for the first time integrated in a disruptive approach to address the requirements listed above. Angiogenic cell sheets of human Adipose-derived Stromal Vascular fraction cells will provide the cell populations that integrate the capillaries and manage its intricate formation, as well as the collagen required to build the matrix that will hold the capillary beds. Innovative fabrication technologies such as 3D printing and laser photoablation will be used for the fabrication of the micropatterned matrix that will allow fluid flow through microfluidics. The resulting functional capillary beds can be used with virtually every tissue engineering strategy rendering the proposed strategy with massive economical, scientific and medical potential
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsmicrofluidics
- engineering and technologycivil engineeringwater engineeringirrigation
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologytissue engineering
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringmanufacturing engineeringadditive manufacturing
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinetransplantation
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitution d’accueil
4704 553 Braga
Portugal