Human Dermal Microvascular Arterial and Venous Blood Endothelial Cells and Their Use in Bioengineered Dermo-Epidermal Skin Substitutes

Abstract

The bioengineering of vascular networks is pivotal to create complex tissues and organs for regenerative medicine applications. However, bioengineered tissues comprising an arterial and venous plexus alongside a lymphatic capillary network have not been explored yet. Here, scRNA-seq is first employed to investigate the arterio-venous endothelial cell marker patterning in human fetal and juvenile skin. Transcriptomic analysis reveals that arterial and venous endothelial cell markers NRP1 (neuropilin 1) and NR2F2 (nuclear receptor subfamily 2 group F member 2) are broadly expressed in fetal and juvenile skin. In contrast, expression of NRP1 and NR2F2 on the protein level is cell-type specific and is retained in 2D (2-dimensional) cultures in vitro. Finally, distinct arterial and venous capillaries are bioengineered in 3D (3-dimensional) hydrogels and rapid anastomosis is demonstrated with the host vasculature in vivo. In summary, the bioengineering of human arterial, venous, and lymphatic capillaries is established, hence paving the way for these cells to be used in regenerative medicine and future clinical applications.