IMB Guest Lecture: On chip reconstitution of the roles of pericyte and intraluminal pressure in angiogenesis

Speaker: Koichi Nishiyama, Associate Professor, International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan.

Abstract

Angiogenesis is a multicellular morphogenesis process that expands vascular networks in tissue. Various biological components concertedly contribute to angiogenic morphogenesis. The most important cellular component is endothelial cells, which we use to reconstruct 3D angiogenic process in a extracellular matrix in response to angiogenic growth factors. In addition, perivascular pericytes, blood flow and extravascular tissue importantly serve as (sub)components that allow constructing more sophisticated vascular networks. However, a mechanistic understanding of how the individual components contribute to various angiogenic processes is largely missing. In this seminar, I will introduce a reconstitution angiogenesis assay system with a microfluidic device that allows dissecting the phenomenon in a bottom-up way by adding individual components to the essential one. I will discuss the roles of pericyte and intraluminal pressure on angiogenic morphogenesis based on recent unpublished data obtained using this technology.

Published Oct. 2, 2017 4:49 PM - Last modified Oct. 4, 2017 3:16 PM