Biomaterials to promote vascularization in tissue engineering organs and ischemic fibrotic diseases

Abstract

The formation of the complex and fully functional vascular networks in pivotal organs is a key challenge in tissue engineering research. Functional blood vessels not only maintain oxygen and nutrient delivery but also effectively get rid of waste. Recently, a deep understanding of the vascular tissue structure and tissue microenvironment helps to make several great progress in the construction of highly complex and biomimetic vascularized tissues and organs, using biomaterials such as hydrogels and biomaterial composites. In this review, we summarized the advantages and research progress of biomaterials used in constructing the vascularized tissue in tissue engineering regeneration, ischemic fibrosis, and so on. We also discussed the progression of vascularization in organs and organoids. First, we discuss the applications of biomaterial-based vascularized tissue in bone, skin, and other tissue regeneration. Secondly, we discussed biomaterials and their components in promoting vascularization of ischemic fibrosis organs such as cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction, and renal fibrosis. In addition, we also introduced the strategies and applications that biomaterials function as a biomimetic extracellular matrix performed to construct vascularized tissues or organs in vitro. Finally, coming opportunities and challenges are also discussed and commented on.