image: Tissue Engineering, Part A brings together scientific and medical experts in the fields of biomedical engineering, material science, molecular and cellular biology, and genetic engineering. view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, February 7, 2018--Using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to silence an immune-stimulating complex in endothelial cells (EC), the main cellular component of blood vessels, researchers have made it possible to use the plentiful supply of donor ECs instead of a patient's own cells to generate tissue engineered vascular grafts for transplantation. This innovative method, in which the treated EC retain their key features and functions, is reported in Tissue Engineering, Part A, peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Tissue Engineering website until March 7, 2018.
In the article entitled "Low Immunogenic Endothelial Cells Maintain Morphofunctional Properties Needed for Tissue Engineering," Skadi Lau, Dorothee Eicke, Constança Figueiredo, Ulrike Böer, and coauthors from Hannover Medical School, Germany describe their approach using lentiviral vector-mediated RNAi to silence the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I complex in donor EC collected from three different sources: peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood, and vein. The researchers demonstrated that HLA I-silenced EC were still able to express essential surface biomarkers and compounds needed to form a tight barrier between cells, to produce factors important for blood coagulation and regulating blood vessel tone, and to form capillary-like tube structures when put into 3D fibrin gels.
"This article demonstrates the impact of RNA interference technology on the development of tissue engineered vascular grafts leveraging available allogeneic cell sources," says Tissue Engineering Co-Editor-in-Chief Antonios G. Mikos, PhD, Louis Calder Professor at Rice University, Houston, TX.
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Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers1R01EB020367 and 1P41EB021911. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About the Journal
Tissue Engineering is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online and in print in three parts: Part A, the flagship journal published 24 times per year; Part B: Reviews, published bimonthly, and Part C: Methods, published 12 times per year. Led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Antonios G. Mikos, PhD, Louis Calder Professor at Rice University, Houston, TX, and John P. Fisher, PhD, Fischell Family Distinguished Professor & Department Chair, and Director of the NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissues at the University of Maryland, the Journal brings together scientific and medical experts in the fields of biomedical engineering, material science, molecular and cellular biology, and genetic engineering. Leadership of Tissue Engineering Parts B (Reviews) and Part C (Methods) is provided by Katja Schenke-Layland, PhD, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen and John A. Jansen, DDS, PhD, Radboud University, respectively. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online at the Tissue Engineering website. Tissue Engineering is the official journal of the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Tissue Engineering website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy, and Advances in Wound Care. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.