This work was supported by CREST JST (grant number JPMJCR14W4), Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (grant number 25600060, 16K16386), The Center of Innovation Program from MEXT and JST, Project Focused on Developing Key Evaluation Technology from Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, AMED, Mizuho Foundation for the Promotion of Sciences. Microfabrication was supported by Kyoto University Nano Technology Hub.

1. Fabrication of the Microfluidic Device Mold
<ol>
	<li>Design the pattern of the microfluidic device using commercially available software (Clewin5 or AutoCAD 2016, etc.). For the function of the Clewin5, see the user manual (http://manualzz.com/doc/7159150/clewin-user-s-manual). 
	NOTE: The design file is available in Supplementary File 1.</li>
	<li>Transfer the design file to a micro pattern generator and load the tool with a chromium mask coated with the positive photoresist.</li>
	<li>Expose the positive photoresist in the pattern area using a micro pattern generator.</li>
	<li>Develop the positive photoresist using the developer (Table of Materials) and rinse the mask with deionized (DI) water.</li>
	<li>Using the chromium etchant (Table of Materials), etch the chromium in the exposed area where the positive photoresist was removed. Rinse the mask with DI water.</li>
	<li>Remove the remaining the photoresist on the mask using acetone. 
	NOTE: Transparency mask can be an alternative for the Cr mask.</li>
	<li>Prepare a clean silicon wafer (4 inch, P(100)) and spin coat hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) at 3,000 rpm for 30 s.</li>
	<li>Softbake HMDS for 5 min at 120 &#176;C and cool the wafer for 5 min at room temperature.</li>
	<li>Spincoat the negative photoresist (Table of Materials) at 500 rpm for 10 s and 1,200 rpm for 30 s. 
	NOTE: The spin coating condition should yield the photoresist layers with a thickness of approximately 100 &#181;m on the wafers after photolithography.</li>
	<li>Prebake the negative photoresist for 45 min at 95 &#176;C and cool the wafer for 60 min at room temperature.</li>
	<li>Check the UV light intensity in each experiment and calculate the exposure time for a total exposure energy dose at 250 mW/cm2. Place the photomask (step 1.1-1.6) on the wafer and expose them to the UV light.</li>
	<li>Postbake the negative photoresist for 1 min at 65 &#176;C and 5 min at 95 &#176;C. Allow the wafer to cool down for 1 min at room temperature.</li>
	<li>Develop the negative photoresist layer for 15 min in the first developer (Table of Materials) bath and 2 min in the second bath. Rinse the wafer in the first isopropanol (IPA) bath for 10 s and in the second IPA bath for 10 s.</li>
	<li>Hardbake the negative photoresist for 30 min at 200 &#176;C and cool the wafer for 5 min at room temperature.</li>
	<li>Measure the thickness of the negative photoresist layer using a surface profiler.</li>
	<li>Place the wafer in a desiccator connected to a vacuum pump and add 200 &#181;L of silane (trichloro(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl)silane). Turn on the pump for 10 min, then turn it off and keep the wafer in the desiccator for 4 h.</li>
</ol>
2. Fabrication Steps and the Assembly of PDMS Layers
<ol>
	<li>Cast the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pre-polymer (PDMS base: curing agent = 10:1 (w/w)) and degas in a vacuum chamber for 2 h.</li>
	<li>Cure PDMS at 80&#176;C in an air-vented oven overnight.</li>
	<li>Peel off the PDMS from the silicon wafer.</li>
	<li>Punch the holes 1A - 3B (Figure 1) and the spheroid culture well. Use a 2-mm diameter punch for holes 1A - 3B, and a 1-mm diameter punch for the spheroid well.</li>
	<li>Clean the PDMS slab and a glass cover slip (24 mm &#215; 24 mm) with adhesive tape, by repeatedly sticking and peeling off the tape. Then treat the PDMS slab with air plasma for 40 s (40 mW, 50 sccm).</li>
	<li>Bond the PDMS slab onto the glass cover slip to expel any air bubbles from the surface between the PDMS slab and the cover slip and cure at 80 &#176;C for at least 12 h.</li>
</ol>
3. Spheroid Preparation
NOTE: In the study, red fluorescent protein expressing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (RFP-HUVECs) and green fluorescent protein expressing HUVECs (GFP-HUVECs) are used in the spheroid and microchannels, respectively, to distinguish the origin of HUVECs after the construction of a perfusable vascular network. If the origin of HUVECs is not needed, unlabeled HUVECs are enough for the experiment.
<ol>
	<li>Thaw the RFP-HUVECs (3.0 &#215; 105 cells/vial) and human lung fibroblast (hLF) (1.0 &#215; 106 cells/vial) and add them into 10 mL of medium for endothelial cells and fibroblast cells, respectively (Table of Materials). Culture them in a 100-mm dish at 37 &#176;C and 5% CO2 for 2-3 days for sub-confluent RFP-HUVECs and hLFs. This preparation will yield ~200 spheroids.</li>
	<li>Detach the RFP-HUVECs and hLFs from the dishes with 2 mL of 0.05% trypsin-EDTA and stop the trypsin reaction with 4 mL of DMEM containing 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 1% (v/v) penicillin/streptomycin.</li>
	<li>After centrifugation at 220 x g for 3 min, remove the supernatant, and resuspend the RFP-HUVECs and hLFs in the endothelial medium to final cell concentrations at 2.5 &#215; 104 and 1.0 &#215; 105 cells/mL, respectively.</li>
	<li>Gently add 200 &#181;L of the cell suspension (5,000 cells for RFP-HUVECs and 20,000 cells for hLFs) per well in a 96-well plate with ultra-low binding surface.</li>
	<li>Incubate the 96-well plate at 37 &#176;C and 5% CO2 for a period of 2-4 days. 
	NOTE: Since the spheroid diameter depends on the culture period and initial cell number in the 96-well plate, it can be controlled by these two parameters.</li>
</ol>
4. Cell Seeding in the Microfluidic Device
Note: The naming convention for the holes, channels and the spheroid well are demonstrated in Figure 1. We define day 0 as the day when cell harvesting into the microfluidic device is finished. Schematic of the experimental timelines is shown in Figure 2.
<ol>
	<li>Day &#8722;1) Spheroid loading 
	NOTE: The following step should be performed on ice to prevent gelation of collagen and fibrin.
	<ol>
		<li>Dissolve fibrinogen in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for a final concentration of 2.80 mg/mL.</li>
		<li>Prepare neutralized collagen (3.0 mg/mL in PBS) according to the manufacturer&#39;s protocol.</li>
		<li>Combine 107.2 &#181;L of fibrinogen solution (2.80 mg/mL), 8.0 &#181;L of neutralized collagen (3.0 mg/mL), and 3.6 &#181;L of aprotinin (5 U/mL) per reaction in a tube. This solution is labelled &#34;master mix solution&#34; (MS). 
		NOTE: The volume is enough for loading one spheroid. If there is more than one spheroid, multiply each volume by the number of spheroids.</li>
		<li>Dissolve thrombin in PBS for a final concentration of 50 U/mL. 
		NOTE: Aliquots of 50 U/mL thrombin (20 &#181;L/tube) are stored at &#8722;30 &#176;C and are thawed before each experiment.</li>
		<li>Place the 96-well plate containing the spheroids inside the biosafety cabinet.</li>
		<li>Prepare two 35-mm Petri dishes inside the biosafety cabinet, with one dish on ice (dish 1) and the other dish on the benchtop (dish 2). Pipet 99 &#181;L of MS at the center of dish 1 (Figure 3a) to form a droplet.</li>
		<li>Trim the tips of 2 yellow (10-100 &#181;L) and 3 clear pipette tips (1-100 &#181;L) for the collection of spheroids from the 96-well plate, mixing thrombin with MS, precise collection of the spheroids, injecting the spheroids into the device, and injecting media into the device, respectively. The pore size of the tip should be slightly larger than the diameter of holes 1A - 3B of channels 1 and 3 or the spheroid well in channel 2 for a snug fit. 
		NOTE: Hereafter, unless otherwise noted, use the pipette tips cut in this step. The photograph of cut tips is available in Figure 4.</li>
		<li>Collect a spheroid with 100 &#181;L of medium from the 96-well plate and add it to dish 2 (Figure 3a).</li>
		<li>Pick up the spheroid with minimum volume of media from dish 2. While holding the pipettor upright, the spheroid should move towards the bottom of the pipet tip by gravity. Eject the spheroid by touching the pipet tip onto the meniscus of the MS droplet in dish 1 (Figure 3a). 
		NOTE: The following steps 4.1.10 &#38; 4.1.11 should be performed quickly.</li>
		<li>Add 1 &#181;L of thrombin (50 U/mL) and mix gently with the yellow pipet tip.</li>
		<li>With the pipette set to 7 &#181;L, pick up the spheroid and slowly place it into the spheroid well (Figure 3b).</li>
		<li>Incubate for 15 min at 37 &#176;C for the gelation of fibrin.</li>
		<li>Slowly inject the endothelial medium from holes 1A and 3A and fill channels 1 and 3 with media (20~30 &#181;L/channel).</li>
		<li>Place the device in a 100-mm dish with a wet Kimwipe to prevent evaporation of media from the device (Figure 3c).</li>
		<li>Place the device at 37 &#176;C and 5% CO2 for 24 h to remove the bubbles at the interface between the media and fibrin.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Day 0) HUVECs loading
	<ol>
		<li>Thaw GFP-HUVECs (3.0 x 105 cells/vial) and add them to 10 mL of the endothelial medium. Culture them in a 100-mm dish at 37 &#176;C and 5% CO2 for 2-3 days to reach sub-confluency. One dish of sub-confluent GFP-HUVECs is enough for preparing 8-10 devices.</li>
		<li>Detach GFP-HUVECs from the dishes with 2 mL of 0.05% trypsin-EDTA and stop the trypsin reaction with 4 mL of DMEM containing 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 1% (v/v) penicillin/streptomycin.</li>
		<li>After centrifugation at 220 x g for 3 min, resuspend the GFP-HUVECs in the endothelial medium at 5.0 x 106 cells/mL.</li>
		<li>Inject HUVECs cell suspension into channel 1 through hole 1B (20 &#181;L/channel).</li>
		<li>Tilt the microfluidic device 90&#176;, place it on the side and incubate at 37 &#176;C for 30 min to ensure that the HUVECs adhere to the fibrin in channel 2.
		<ol>
			<li>Confirm the attachment of HUVECs on the fibrin. When the number of HUVECs attached at the interface between the gel and medium is not sufficient, the vasculature may be disconnected at the vascular root after a few days of device culture (Figure 5). In the protocol, the success rate of the perfusion is &#62;50%.</li>
		</ol>
		</li>
		<li>Repeat steps 4.2.4 and 4.2.5 for channel 3.</li>
		<li>Culture cells in a 100-mm dish with a damp Kimwipe at 37 &#176;C and 5% CO2 for 7-14 days.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Day 1~) Media exchange
	<ol>
		<li>Exchange half of the media in channels 1 and 3 every day.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
5. Nuclei Staining
<ol>
	<li>Prepare 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) in PBS.</li>
	<li>Remove the media from channels 1 and 3 and add 20 &#181;L of 4% PFA per channel. To replace the solution in 4% PFA, repeat removing the solution from the device and adding 4% PFA three times.</li>
	<li>Incubate the device at 4 &#176;C overnight.</li>
	<li>Remove 4% PFA from the device and wash the channels three times with PBS.</li>
	<li>Add 20 &#181;L of 10 &#181;g/mL the fluorescent dye (Table of Materials) per channel to stain cellular nuclei. To exchange the solution in the device, repeat removing the solution from the device and adding 10 &#181;g/mL the fluorescent dye three times.</li>
	<li>Store the device at 4 &#176;C for 24 h.</li>
</ol>
6. Fluid Perfusion of a Spheroid
<ol>
	<li>Prepare the spheroid after culturing for more than 7 days in the device at 37 &#176;C and 5% CO2 for the completion of a continuous vascular pathway.</li>
	<li>Remove the medium from holes 1A, 1B, 3A and 3B.</li>
	<li>Introduce 10 &#181;L of 10 &#181;M solution of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran in PBS into holes 1A and 1B.</li>
	<li>Monitor the flow of microbeads or FITC dye under an inverted microscope.</li>
</ol>
7. Quantification of Sprout Length
NOTE: ImageJ ver. 1.49 software is used for all of analysis of the image in this study.
<ol>
	<li>Overlap the images of GFP-HUVECs days 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7.</li>
	<li>Subtract the position of the vasculature tip of day 0 from the same position at images taken on days 1, 3, 5 and 7.</li>
	<li>Determine the growth of the vascular tip from the root position (Figure 6). The distance between the vascular tip and root was defined as the sprout length in this study (Figure 7b).</li>
</ol>
8. Quantification of Vascular Angles
NOTE: Vascular angle was defined as the angle consisted by vascular angle, root and the center of the spheroid (Figure 7c).
<ol>
	<li>Binarize the fluorescent images of the coculture spheroid containing RFP-HUVECs and measure &#34;centroid&#34; position by analysis function in ImageJ. In this study, the measured &#34;centroid&#34; position is defined as the center of the spheroid (Figure 6).</li>
	<li>Determine the position of the vascular tips and roots in same way in step 7.</li>
	<li>Measure the vascular angles using analysis function in ImageJ software.</li>
</ol>

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W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+requirement+for+fibroblasts+in+angiogenesis:+fibroblast-derived+matrix+proteins+are+essential+for+endothelial+cell+lumen+formation.">The requirement for fibroblasts in angiogenesis: fibroblast-derived matrix proteins are essential for endothelial cell lumen formation.</a> Molecular Biology of the Cell. 22 (20), 3791-3800 (2011).</li><li>Griffith, C. K., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Diffusion+limits+of+an+in+vitro+thick+prevascularized+tissue.">Diffusion limits of an in vitro thick prevascularized tissue.</a> Tissue Engineering. 11 (1-2), 257-266 (2005).</li><li>Zheng, Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Angiogenesis+in+Liquid+Tumors:+An+In+Vitro+Assay+for+Leukemic-Cell-Induced+Bone+Marrow+Angiogenesis.">Angiogenesis in Liquid Tumors: An In Vitro Assay for Leukemic-Cell-Induced Bone Marrow Angiogenesis.</a> Advanced Healthcare Materials. 5 (9), 1014-1024 (2016).</li><li>Osaki, T., Sivathanu, V., Kamm, R. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Crosstalk+between+developing+vasculature+and+optogenetically+engineered+skeletal+muscle+improves+muscle+contraction+and+angiogenesis.">Crosstalk between developing vasculature and optogenetically engineered skeletal muscle improves muscle contraction and angiogenesis.</a> Biomaterials. 156, 65-76 (2018).</li></ol>

The author declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Previous reports show that hLFs secrete a cocktail of multiple angiogenic factors, such as angiopoietin-1, angiogenin, hepatocyte growth factor, transforming growth factor-&#945;, tumor necrosis factor and some extracellular matrix proteins29,30. This assay relies on the angiogenic secretion from hLFs in a coculture spheroid, which is the limitation of the technique. Therefore, it is critical for a stable vascular formation to set a coculture spheroid at the bottom of a well so that the distance between the coculture spheroid and the HUVECs in channels 1 and 3 can be shortened. The vascular length from fibroblasts was inversely proportional to the distance between the endothelial cells and fibroblasts31, so that the shorter distance is advantageous for stable vascular formation. However, to open a spheroid hole (1 mm in diameter) without damaging channels 1 and 3, the minimum width of channel 2 was 1.5 mm.
Although the spheroid settles at the bottom of the well, vascular roots were occasionally disconnected from the microposts or microchannels (Figure 5). In this case, no reagent could reach the vascular lumen through microchannels (channels 1 or 3). Although we could not solve this problem completely, we presume that the problem is due to the insufficient number of HUVECs at the surface of the fibrin gel (step 4.2.1-4.2.6). Make sure the HUVECs stably attach the side wall of channel 2.
Toward the successful injection of a spheroid into the well, optimizing the inner and outer diameter of micropipette tips in step 4.1.7 is important: 1) the inner diameter should be larger than that of the spheroid. 2) The outer dimeter should fit to the edge of the well so that no leakage of the gel occurs at the top of the well during the injection and the tip can be easily removed after the gel injection. In the present protocol (&#966;1 mm of a spheroid well), around 700 &#181;m is the maximum diameter for the injectable spheroid. If the well diameter is designed larger than that in this protocol, larger spheroids can be injected because the tip can be cut to have larger inner diameters. Spheroid diameters can be controlled easily by changing the cell number harvested in the 96-well plate.
This protocol firstly shows novel microfluidic platform to construct a perfusable vascular network in a spheroid. Although the coculture with HUVECs allows the formation of vessel-like structures in a spheroid18,23,24, these were not perfusable due to the dead ends of the lumina. Because fibroblast cells exist in versatile tissues (bone, adipocyte and cancer, etc.), by the addition of some other targeting cells to the coculture spheroid, a vascularization of a various kind of spheroids can be expected, which can mimic the in vivo environment better than the conventional spheroid culture. To expand the application of the technique, future work would include the vascularization of spheroids without the addition of fibroblast cells. Some recent works report bone-marrow stromal cells32 and muscle cells33 can induce angiogenesis in the microfluidic devices. Utilizing the stromal or muscle cells instead of the fibroblast cells would increase the number of tissues that can be vascularized in the microfluidic device. This protocol provides a basic platform for tissue vascularization, which is a long-awaited technique in the field of three dimensional cultures.

Shifting from a monolayer (two-dimensional) culture to a three-dimensional culture is motivated by the need to work with culture models that mimic the cellular functions of living tissues1,2,3. Flat and hard plastic substrates commonly used in cell culture do not resemble most of the extracellular environments in the human body. In fact, many studies demonstrate that three-dimensional culture recreate tissue-specific architecture, mechanical and biochemical cues, and cell-cell communication, which have not been observed in conventional two-dimensional culture4,5,6,7,8.
A multicellular aggregate or spheroid, is one of the most promising techniques to realize this three-dimensional culture9,10. Cells secrete the extracellular matrix (ECM) and can interact with others in the spheroid. Although some other bioengineering approaches11,12,13,14, such as cell stacking, successfully replicate spatial complexity of the human body, these approaches have only two or three kinds of cells for the ease of analysis and focused on only one function of target organs. In contrast, cells in spheroids are exposed to different culture environments depending on their positions in the spheroid due to the heterogeneous supply of nutrients, oxygen, and paracrine and autocrine signaling molecules in the spheroid. This feature of spheroids partially mimics in vivo culture condition and enable the cells in spheroids to create much more complex, organized tissue structure in vitro than those cultured in stacking tissue9,15,16. Note that if a spheroid is comprised of a single kind of cells, the function of the cells in the spheroid is not uniform due to the heterogeneous environment in the spheroid. In the past few years, spheroid cultures allowed embryonic stem cells (ESCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or tissue-resident stem cells to mimic in vivo developmental sequences and recreate mini-organs such as the brain17, liver18and kidney19,20.
Despite significant progress in spheroid culture techniques, culturing large spheroids for a long time is still problematic. In a three-dimensional tissue, cells need to be located within 150-200 &#181;m of a blood vessel because of the limited supply of oxygen and nutrients21. Vascular networks within the spheroid are necessary to recapitulate exchanging substances between blood and tissues in vivo. To achieve this, other groups have co-cultured endothelial cells with target cells22,23,24 or induced the differentiation of pluripotent cells into CD31-positive cells20. Nevertheless, the reported vessel-like structures do not have the open ends of the lumina to supply oxygen and nutrients to the center of the spheroid. To mimic the vascular role to nourish cells in the three-dimensional culture, open-ended and perfusable vascular network must be developed in the spheroid.
During the past few years, some research groups in the microengineering field reported methods to construct a perfusable vascular network, spontaneously formed in a microfluidic device by utilizing angiogenic factors from cocultured fibroblast cells25,26. These vascular networks have a similar morphology to their in vivo counterparts and can be remodeled by environmental factors, making them suitable for mimicking vascular functions in a spheroid culture. The purpose of this protocol is to construct a perfusable vascular network in a spheroid using a microfluidic platform27. The microfluidic device is modified from the previously reported device25 so that a spheroid can be incorporated. By directing the angiogenic secretion from fibroblast cells in a spheroid to endothelial cells in microchannels, angiogenic sprouts from the microchannels anastomosed with the spheroid and formed a perfusable vascular network. This method allows a direct delivery of a wide range of substances, such as fluorescent molecules and micrometer-scale beads into the interior of a spheroid, which provides the framework for a long-term tissue culture with vascular networks.

<table><tbody><tr><td>AutoCAD 2017</td><td>Autodesk</td><td>AutoCAD 2017</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>A chromium mask coated with AZP 1350.</td><td>CLEAN SURFACE TECHNOLOGY</td><td>CBL2506Bu-AZP</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Micro pattern generator</td><td>Heidelberg</td><td>uPG101</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>MF CD-26 developer</td><td>Rohm and haas electronic materials</td><td>-</td><td>Developer in protocol 1.4</td></tr><tr><td>S-Clean</td><td>Sasaki Chemical</td><td>S-24</td><td>Chromium etchant in protocol 1.5</td></tr><tr><td>Aceton</td><td>Wako</td><td>012-00343</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Silicon Wafer</td><td>Canosis</td><td>SiJ-4</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Spin Coater</td><td>MIKASA</td><td>1H-D7</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS)</td><td>Tokyo Ohka Kogyo</td><td>H0089</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>SU-8 3050</td><td>MicroChem</td><td>-</td><td>Negative photoresist in protocol 1.9</td></tr><tr><td>UV Exposure</td><td>Nanometric Technology Inc</td><td>LA310s</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>SU-8 Developer</td><td>MicroChem</td><td>Y020100</td><td>Developer for the negative photoresist in protocol 1.13</td></tr><tr><td>2-propanol</td><td>Wako</td><td>163-04841</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Surface profiler</td><td>Veeco</td><td>Veeco Dektak XT-S</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>(Trichloro (1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctyl) silane</td><td>Sigma</td><td>448931</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)</td><td>Dow Corning Toray</td><td>184W/C</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Biopsy Punch (1.0mm)&amp;nbsp;</td><td>Kai Industries</td><td>BP-10F</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Biopsy Punch (2.0mm)&amp;nbsp;</td><td>Kai Industries</td><td>BP-20F</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Plasma System</td><td>Femto Science</td><td>COVANCE</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cover glass</td><td>MATSUNAMI GLASS</td><td>C024241</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Culture Dishes</td><td>Iwaki</td><td>1000-035</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>RFP Expressing Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell</td><td>Angio Proteomie</td><td>cAP-0001RFP</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Normal Human Lung Fibroblasts</td><td>Lonza</td><td>CC-2512</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Endothelial Cell Growth Medium</td><td>Lonza</td><td>CC-3162</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fibroblast Growth Media Kits</td><td>Lonza</td><td>CC-3132</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>DMEM</td><td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td><td>11965092</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fetal Bovine Serum</td><td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td><td>26140079</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Penicillin-Streptomycin Solution</td><td>Wako</td><td>168-23191</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>0.05w/v% Trypsin-0.53mmol/l EDTA&amp;bull; 4Na Solution with Phenol Red</td><td>Wako</td><td>204-16935</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>PBS (Phosphate Buffered Salts)</td><td>Takara bio</td><td>T900</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>96-well plate</td><td>Sumitomo bakelite</td><td>631-21031</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1000ul Chip</td><td>NIPPON Genetics</td><td>FG-402</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>200ul&amp;nbsp; Chip</td><td>NIPPON Genetics</td><td>FG-301</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10ul Chip</td><td>NIPPON Genetics</td><td>37650</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; incubator</td><td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td><td>Model 370</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>GFP Expressing Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell</td><td>Angio Proteomie</td><td>cAP-0001GFP</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fibrinogen from bovine plasma</td><td>Sigma</td><td>F8630</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Aprotinin from bovine lung</td><td>Sigma</td><td>A6279</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Collagen I</td><td>Corning</td><td>354236</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Thrombin from bovine plasma</td><td>Sigma</td><td>T4648</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hoechst 33342</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>H21492</td><td>Fluorescent dye to stain nuclei in protocol 5.5</td></tr><tr><td>Paraformaldehyde Solution</td><td>Wako</td><td>163-25983</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Inverted Fluorescence Microscope</td><td>OLYMPUS</td><td>IX71</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Degital CCD Camera</td><td>OLYMPUS</td><td>ORCA-R2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Confocal Laser Scanning Biological Microscope</td><td>OLYMPUS</td><td>FV1000</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Inverted Fluorescence Microscope</td><td>OLYMPUS</td><td>IX-83</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran</td><td>Sigma</td><td>FD70S</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

perfusable vascular network with a tissue model in a microfluidic device

A spheroid (a multicellular aggregate) is regarded as a good model of living tissues in the human body. Despite the significant advancement in the spheroid cultures, a perfusable vascular network in the spheroids remains a critical challenge for long-term culture required to maintain and develop their functions, such as protein expressions and morphogenesis. The protocol presents a novel method to integrate a perfusable vascular network within the spheroid in a microfluidic device. To induce a perfusable vascular network in the spheroid, angiogenic sprouts connected to microchannels were guided to the spheroid by utilizing angiogenic factors from human lung fibroblasts cultured in the spheroid. The angiogenic sprouts reached the spheroid, merged with the endothelial cells co-cultured in the spheroid, and formed a continuous vascular network. The vascular network could perfuse the interior of the spheroid without any leakage. The constructed vascular network may be further used as a route for supply of nutrients and removal of waste products, mimicking blood circulation in vivo. The method provides a new platform in spheroid culture toward better recapitulation of living tissues.

Figure 1 shows a design and photo of the microfluidic device. It has three parallel channels, in which channel 2 contains the spheroid well. Channels 1 and 3 are used for the HUVEC culture and channel 2 is for the spheroid. Each channel is separated by trapezoidal microposts designed to pattern PDMS. The microposts prevent the hydrogel in channel 2 from leaking into channels 1 and 3 by surface tension and allow exchanging substances between the spheroid and HUVECs in microchannels28.
Figure 7a shows the center of a microfluidic device after cell seeding. Bright field and fluorescent images taken on day 0 show that fibrin gel filled only channel 2 without any leakage into channels 1 and 3, and HUVECs successfully attached to the sidewall of the fibrin gel. The bright field image is in focus on the both the loaded spheroid and microposts, indicating that the spheroid properly settled at the bottom of the device. The angiogenic sprouts are observed on day 1 and the length of the sprouts increases with time (Figure 7b). On day 3, the longest sprout reached the spheroid and on day 7, most of the angiogenic sprouts reached the spheroid (average distance from the channels 1 and 3 to the spheroid &#60; 500 &#181;m). In the best case, after 4 days in device culture, flow through the vascular lumens can be observed. The vascular angle was defined as the directions of the vascular tip and the center of the spheroid from the vascular root. Figure 7c shows the quantified vascular angle during 7 days in the device culture. The vascular angles decreased in a time-dependent manner, indicating that the angiogenic sprouts migrated toward the spheroid.
Figure 8 indicates the section of the vascular network where RFP-HUVECs and GFP-HUVECs have merged. RFP-HUVECs and GFP-HUVECs coordinately formed a single vascular lumen as shown by arrow heads, which clearly indicate angiogenic sprouts from channels 1 and 3 anastomosed to RFP-HUVECs in the spheroid and formed a continuous vascular network. To confirm the perfusability of the vascular network, FITC-dextran was injected into channel 1. FITC-dextran in channel 1 flowed into the constructed vascular network and interior of the spheroid and finally reached to channel 3 (Figure 9). During the perfusion of FITC-dextran solution, there is no leakage from the vascular network into the extravascular space. It was previously shown that small molecules injected in the vascular lumen pass through the vascular wall and react with the cells in the extravascular regions. In addition, the permeability coefficient of the vascular network was shown to be close to that in vivo27. These results imply that the integrated vascular network could supply the nutrients to the spheroid and remove the waste product.
<img alt="Figure 1" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig1.jpg" /> 
Figure 1: Design and a photograph of the microfluidic device. (a) Overview of the design of the microfluidic device. Gray area indicates three microfluidic channels separated by trapezoidal microposts. Channel 2 has a well for a spheroid culture. Right figure shows the enlarged view in the red rectangle in the left. (b) Photograph of the microfluidic device whose channels are filled with red ink. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig1large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 2" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig2.jpg" /> 
Figure 2: Experimental time. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig2large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 3" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig3v2.jpg" /> 
Figure 3: Method to load a spheroid into the microfluidic device. (a) Making a drop of MS and media with a spheroid in two separate dishes. Then, transfer the spheroid into MS with thrombin. (b) Schematic sectional view of the device during the injection of the spheroid. Excess amount of gel flows out through the holes 2A and 2B. However, the spheroid stays at the bottom of the device due to the physical confinement. (c) Schematic of the devices when they are in an incubator. Wet Kimwipe was placed in a 100-mm dish and two 35-mm dishes with the device were put on the Kimwipe. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig3v2large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 4" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig4.jpg" /> 
Figure 4: The photographs of pipette tips cut for cell seeding to the device. The left white tip is for holes 1A, 1B, 3A and 3C and transferring spheroid to a drop of fibrin gel (steps 4.1.9, 4.1.13, 4.2.4 and 4.2.6). The middle yellow tip is for the collection of the spheroid from 96-well (step 4.1.7). The right white tip is for the spheroid well (step 4.1.11). The tips before cut are also shown in the photograph. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig4large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 5" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig5.jpg" /> 
Figure 5: Non-perfusable vasculature. Angiogenic sprouts from microchannels did not connect to the opening between microposts and lost the connection between the lumen and microchannels (black arrows). It is caused by the insufficient HUVECs seeded in channels 1 and 3. Red: RFP-HUVECs in the spheroid, green: GFP-HUVECs from microchannels. The cells were cultured in the device for 14 days. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig5large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 6" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig6v2.jpg" /> 
Figure 6: Definition of the vascular root, tip and the center of the spheroid. (a) The method to determine the position of the vascular root and tip to measure the sprout length. After aligning the time-lapse fluorescent images, the fluorescent image taken a few days after culturing in the device is subtracted by the image on day 0. We measured the length of the sprouts after the subtraction by ImageJ software. (b) Definition of the center of the spheroid. The fluorescent images of the RFP-HUVECs are binarized and measured at its centroid by ImageJ software. We define the centroid as the center of the spheroid. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig6v2large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 7" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig7.jpg" /> 
Figure 7: Formation of a vascular network in the microfluidic device. (a) Time-lapse images of a center of a microfluidic device after cell seeding. Red: RFP-HUVECs cultured in the spheroid, green: GFP-HUVECs harvested in channels 1 and 3. Quantitative analysis of the sprout length (b) and vascular angle (c) (n = 42 sprouts in 3 devices, the error bars indicate the standard errors (S.E.)). The sprout length was defined as the distance from the position of HUVECs on day 0 to the vascular tip (b, top). The angle (&#8736;TRS) was defined by the vascular root (R), tip (T) and the center of the spheroid (S) (c, top). See Figure 6 for the definition of vascular root, tip and the center of the spheroid. These data were obtained using ImageJ software. The schematics explaining the definition of the sprout length and the vascular angle are modified from Nashimoto, Y. et al.27. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig7large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 8" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig8v2.jpg" /> 
Figure 8: Formation of vascular lumen by HUVECs from microchannels and the spheroid. (a) Fluorescent image of the overview of the sample after 14 days in device culture. Yellow rectangle indicates the x-y position of the optical section shown in (b). (b) x-y, y-z and x-z optical section of the constructed vascular network. White arrows indicate vascular lumen. Red: RFP-HUVECs cultured in the spheroid, green: GFP-HUVECs cultured in the microchannels, blue: Cellular nuclei. (a) shows no blue fluorescence because (a) is the image before the fixation. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig8v2large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 9" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig9.jpg" /> 
Figure 9: Perfusion of a spheroid using a constructed vascular network. Bright field (a) and fluorescent (b) images of the spheroid after 7 days in device culture. (c) Fluorescent image of the same spheroid after FITC-dextran (70 kDa) loading. Red: RFP-HUVECs in the spheroid and channels 1 and 3, Green: FITC-dextran, blue: Cellular nuclei. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/57242fig9large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
Supplementary File 1: The design of the microfluidic device. The file is in dxf&#160;format. <a href="/files/ftp_upload/57242/Supplementary_File_1.dxf" target="_blank">Please click here to download this file.</a>

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Perfusable Vascular Network with a Tissue Model in a Microfluidic Device

The protocol describes how to engineer a perfusable vascular network in a spheroid. The spheroid's surrounding microenvironment is devised to induce angiogenesis and connect the spheroid to the microchannels in a microfluidic device. The method allows the perfusion of the spheroid, which is a long-awaited technique in three-dimensional cultures.

A spheroid (a multicellular aggregate) is regarded as a good model of living tissues in the human body. Despite the significant advancement in the ...

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13.8K Views.  Kyoto University. The protocol describes how to engineer a perfusable vascular network in a spheroid. The spheroid's surrounding microenvironment is devised to induce angiogenesis and connect the spheroid to the microchannels in a microfluidic device. The method allows the perfusion of the spheroid, which is a long-awaited technique in three-dimensional cultures.

Video: Perfusable Vascular Network with a Tissue Model in a Microfluidic Device

Endothelialized Microfluidics for Studying Microvascular Interactions in Hematologic Diseases

Advances in microfabrication techniques have enabled the production of inexpensive and reproducible microfluidic systems for conducting biological and biochemical experiments at the micro- and nanoscales 1,2. In addition, microfluidics have also been specifically used to quantitatively analyze hematologic and microvascular processes, because of their ability to easily control the dynamic fluidic environment and biological conditions3-6. As such, researchers have more recently used microfluidic systems to study blood cell deformability, blood cell aggregation, microvascular blood flow, and blood cell-endothelial cell interactions6-13.However, these microfluidic systems either did not include cultured endothelial cells or were larger than the sizescale relevant to microvascular pathologic processes. A microfluidic platform with cultured endothelial cells that accurately recapitulates the cellular, physical, and hemodynamic environment of the microcirculation is needed to further our understanding of the underlying biophysical pathophysiology of hematologic diseases that involve the microvasculature.
Here, we report a method to create an "endothelialized" in vitro model of the microvasculature, using a simple, single mask microfabrication process in conjunction with standard endothelial cell culture techniques, to study pathologic biophysical microvascular interactions that occur in hematologic disease. This "microvasculature-on-a-chip" provides the researcher with a robust assay that tightly controls biological as well as biophysical conditions and is operated using a standard syringe pump and brightfield/fluorescence microscopy. Parameters such as microcirculatory hemodynamic conditions, endothelial cell type, blood cell type(s) and concentration(s), drug/inhibitory concentration etc., can all be easily controlled. As such, our microsystem provides a method to quantitatively investigate disease processes in which microvascular flow is impaired due to alterations in cell adhesion, aggregation, and deformability, a capability unavailable with existing assays.

A method to culture an endothelial cell monolayer throughout the entire inner 3D surface of a microfluidic device with microvascular-sized channels (&lt;30 &mu;m) is described. This in vitro microvasculature model enables the study of biophysical interactions between blood cells, endothelial cells, and soluble factors in hematologic diseases.

Advances in  microfabrication techniques have enabled the production of inexpensive and  reproducible microfluidic systems for conducting biological and ...

Microfluidic Genipin Deposition Technique for Extended Culture of Micropatterned Vascular Muscular Thin Films

The chronic nature of vascular disease progression requires the development of experimental techniques that simulate physiologic and pathologic vascular behaviors on disease-relevant time scales. Previously, microcontact printing has been used to fabricate two-dimensional functional arterial mimics through patterning of extracellular matrix protein as guidance cues for tissue organization. Vascular muscular thin films utilized these mimics to assess functional contractility. However, the microcontact printing fabrication technique used typically incorporates hydrophobic PDMS substrates. As the tissue turns over the underlying extracellular matrix, new proteins must undergo a conformational change or denaturing in order to expose hydrophobic amino acid residues to the hydrophobic PDMS surfaces for attachment, resulting in altered matrix protein bioactivity, delamination, and death of the tissues.
Here, we present a microfluidic deposition technique for patterning of the crosslinker compound genipin. Genipin serves as an intermediary between patterned tissues and PDMS substrates, allowing cells to deposit newly-synthesized extracellular matrix protein onto a more hydrophilic surface and remain attached to the PDMS substrates. We also show that extracellular matrix proteins can be patterned directly onto deposited genipin, allowing dictation of engineered tissue structure. Tissues fabricated with this technique show high fidelity in both structural alignment and contractile function of vascular smooth muscle tissue in a vascular muscular thin film model. This technique can be extended using other cell types and provides the framework for future study of chronic tissue- and organ-level functionality.

We present a method for microfluidic deposition of patterned genipin and fibronectin on PDMS substrates, allowing extended viability of vascular smooth muscle cell-dense tissues. This tissue fabrication method is combined with previous vascular muscular thin film technology to measure vascular contractility over disease-relevant time courses.

The chronic nature of vascular disease progression requires the development of experimental techniques that simulate physiologic and pathologic vascular ...

Micropatterning and Assembly of 3D Microvessels

In vitro platforms to study endothelial cells and vascular biology are largely limited to 2D endothelial cell culture, flow chambers with polymer or glass based substrates, and hydrogel-based tube formation assays. These assays, while informative, do not recapitulate lumen geometry, proper extracellular matrix, and multi-cellular proximity, which play key roles in modulating vascular function. This manuscript describes an injection molding method to generate engineered vessels with diameters on the order of 100 &#181;m. Microvessels are fabricated by seeding endothelial cells in a microfluidic channel embedded within a native type I collagen hydrogel. By incorporating parenchymal cells within the collagen matrix prior to channel formation, specific tissue microenvironments can be modeled and studied. Additional modulations of hydrodynamic properties and media composition allow for control of complex vascular function within the desired microenvironment. This platform allows for the study of perivascular cell recruitment, blood-endothelium interactions, flow response, and tissue-microvascular interactions. Engineered microvessels offer the ability to isolate the influence from individual components of a vascular niche and precisely control its chemical, mechanical, and biological properties to study vascular biology in both health and disease.

This manuscript presents an injection molding method to engineer microvessels that recapitulate physiological properties of endothelium. The microfluidic-based process creates patent 3D vascular networks with tailorable conditions, such as flow, cellular composition, geometry, and biochemical gradients. The fabrication process and examples of potential applications are described.

In vitro platforms to study endothelial cells and vascular biology are largely limited to 2D endothelial cell culture, flow chambers with polymer or glass ...

Preparing a Microfluidics-Based Vascularized Human Micro-Tumor Model

Establishing a Physiologic Human Vascularized Micro-Tumor Model for Cancer Research

A lack of validated cancer models that recapitulate the tumor microenvironment of solid cancers in vitro remains a significant bottleneck for preclinical cancer research and therapeutic development.&#160;To overcome this problem, we have developed the vascularized microtumor (VMT), or tumor chip, a microphysiological system that realistically models the complex human tumor microenvironment. The VMT forms de novo within a microfluidic platform by co-culture of multiple human cell types under dynamic, physiological flow conditions. This tissue-engineered micro-tumor construct incorporates a living perfused vascular network that supports the growing tumor mass just as newly formed vessels do in vivo. Importantly, drugs and immune cells must cross the endothelial layer to reach the tumor, modeling in vivo physiological barriers to therapeutic delivery and efficacy. Since the VMT platform is optically transparent, high-resolution imaging of dynamic processes such as immune cell extravasation and metastasis can be achieved with direct visualization of fluorescently labeled cells within the tissue. Further, the VMT retains in vivo tumor heterogeneity, gene expression signatures, and drug responses. Virtually any tumor type can be adapted to the platform, and primary cells from fresh surgical tissues grow and respond to drug treatment in the VMT, paving the way toward truly personalized medicine. Here, the methods for establishing the VMT and utilizing it for oncology research are outlined. This innovative approach opens new possibilities for studying tumors and drug responses, providing researchers with a powerful tool to advance cancer research.

Author Spotlight: Creating Human Vascularized Micro-Tumors as Models for Translational Cancer Research 

This protocol presents a physiologically relevant tumor-on-a-chip model to perform high-throughput basic and translational human cancer research, advancing drug screening, disease modeling, and personalized medicine approaches with a description of loading, maintenance, and evaluation procedures.

A lack of validated cancer models that recapitulate the tumor microenvironment of solid cancers in vitro remains a significant bottleneck for preclinical ...

Cancer Research

Image-guided, Laser-based Fabrication of Vascular-derived Microfluidic Networks

This detailed protocol outlines the implementation of image-guided, laser-based hydrogel degradation for the fabrication of vascular-derived microfluidic networks embedded in PEGDA hydrogels. Here, we describe the creation of virtual masks that allow for image-guided laser control; the photopolymerization of a micromolded PEGDA hydrogel, suitable for microfluidic network fabrication and pressure head-driven flow; the setup and use of a commercially available laser scanning confocal microscope paired with a femtosecond pulsed Ti:S laser to induce hydrogel degradation; and the imaging of fabricated microfluidic networks using fluorescent species and confocal microscopy. Much of the protocol is focused on the proper setup and implementation of the microscope software and microscope macro, as these are crucial steps in using a commercial microscope for microfluidic fabrication purposes that contain a number of intricacies. The image-guided component of this technique allows for the implementation of 3D image stacks or user-generated 3D models, thereby allowing for creative microfluidic design and for the fabrication of complex microfluidic systems of virtually any configuration. With an expected impact in tissue engineering, the methods outlined in this protocol could aid in the fabrication of advanced biomimetic microtissue constructs for organ- and human-on-a-chip devices. By mimicking the complex architecture, tortuosity, size, and density of in vivo vasculature, essential biological transport processes can be replicated in these constructs, leading to more accurate in vitro modeling of drug pharmacokinetics and disease.

This protocol outlines the implementation of image-guided, laser-based hydrogel degradation to fabricate vascular-derived, biomimetic microfluidic networks embedded in poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels. These biomimetic microfluidic systems may be useful for tissue engineering applications, generation of in vitro disease models, and fabrication of advanced "on-a-chip" devices.

This detailed protocol outlines the implementation of image-guided, laser-based hydrogel degradation for the fabrication of vascular-derived microfluidic ...

Microfluidic Bioprinting for Engineering Vascularized Tissues and Organoids

Engineering vascularized tissue constructs and organoids has been historically challenging. Here we describe a novel method based on microfluidic bioprinting to generate a scaffold with multilayer interlacing hydrogel microfibers. To achieve smooth bioprinting, a core-sheath microfluidic printhead containing a composite bioink formulation extruded from the core flow and the crosslinking solution carried by the sheath flow, was designed and fitted onto the bioprinter. By blending gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) with alginate, a polysaccharide that undergoes instantaneous ionic crosslinking in the presence of select divalent ions, followed by a secondary photocrosslinking of the GelMA component to achieve permanent stabilization, a microfibrous scaffold could be obtained using this bioprinting strategy. Importantly, the endothelial cells encapsulated inside the bioprinted microfibers can form the lumen-like structures resembling the vasculature over the course of culture for 16 days. The endothelialized microfibrous scaffold may be further used as a vascular bed to construct a vascularized tissue through subsequent seeding of the secondary cell type into the interstitial space of the microfibers. Microfluidic bioprinting provides a generalized strategy in convenient engineering of vascularized tissues at high fidelity.

We provide a generalized protocol based on a microfluidic bioprinting strategy for engineering a microfibrous vascular bed, where a secondary cell type could be further seeded into the interstitial space of this microfibrous structure to generate vascularized tissues and organoids.

Engineering vascularized tissue constructs and organoids has been historically challenging. Here we describe a novel method based on microfluidic ...

Microfluidic Model to Mimic Initial Event of Neovascularization

Neovascularization is usually initialized from an existing normal vasculature and the biomechanical microenvironment of endothelial cells (ECs) in the initial stage varies dramatically from the following process of neovascularization. Although there are plenty of models to simulate different stages of neovascularization, an in vitro 3D model that capitulates the initial process of neovascularization under the corresponding stimulations of normal vasculature microenvironments is still lacking. Here, we reconstructed an in vitro 3D model that mimics the initial event of neovascularization (MIEN). The MIEN model contains a microfluidic sprouting chip and an automatic control, highly efficient circulation system. A functional, perfusable microchannel coated with endothelium was formed and the process of sprouting was simulated in the microfluidic sprouting chip. The initially physiological microenvironment of neovascularization was recapitulated with the microfluidic control system, by which ECs would be exposed to high luminal shear stress, physiological transendothelial flow, and various vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) distributions simultaneously. The MIEN model can be readily applied to the study of neovascularization mechanism and holds a potential promise as a low-cost platform for drug screening and toxicology applications.

Here, we provide a microfluidic chip and an automatically controlled, highly efficient circulation microfluidic system that recapitulates the initial microenvironment of neovascularization, allowing endothelial cells (ECs) to be stimulated by high luminal shear stress, physiological level of transendothelial flow, and various vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) distribution simultaneously.

Neovascularization is usually initialized from an existing normal vasculature and the biomechanical microenvironment of endothelial cells (ECs) in the ...

Developing 3D Organized Human Cardiac Tissue within a Microfluidic Platform

The leading cause of death worldwide persists as cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, modeling the physiological and biological complexity of the heart muscle, the myocardium, is notoriously difficult to accomplish in vitro. Mainly, obstacles lie in the need for human cardiomyocytes (CMs) that are either adult or exhibit adult-like phenotypes and can successfully replicate the myocardium&#39;s cellular complexity and intricate 3D architecture. Unfortunately, due to ethical concerns and lack of available primary patient-derived human cardiac tissue, combined with the minimal proliferation of CMs, the sourcing of viable human CMs has been a limiting step for cardiac tissue engineering. To this end, most research has transitioned toward cardiac differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) as the primary source of human CMs, resulting in the wide incorporation of hiPSC-CMs within in vitro assays for cardiac tissue modeling.
Here in this work, we demonstrate a protocol for developing a 3D mature stem cell-derived human cardiac tissue within a microfluidic device. We specifically explain and visually demonstrate the production of a 3D in vitro anisotropic cardiac tissue-on-a-chip model from hiPSC-derived CMs. We primarily describe a purification protocol to select for CMs, the co-culture of cells with a defined ratio via mixing CMs with human CFs (hCFs), and suspension of this co-culture within the collagen-based hydrogel. We further demonstrate the injection of the cell-laden hydrogel within our well-defined microfluidic device, embedded with staggered elliptical microposts that serve as surface topography to induce a high degree of alignment of the surrounding cells and the hydrogel matrix, mimicking the architecture of the native myocardium. We envision that the proposed 3D anisotropic cardiac tissue-on-chip model is suitable for fundamental biology studies, disease modeling, and, through its use as a screening tool, pharmaceutical testing.

The goal of this protocol is to explain and demonstrate the development of a three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic model of highly aligned human cardiac tissue, composed of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes co-cultured with cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) within a biomimetic, collagen-based hydrogel, for applications in cardiac tissue engineering, drug screening, and disease modeling.

The leading cause of death worldwide persists as cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, modeling the physiological and biological complexity of the heart ...

A Microphysiological System to Study Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Interaction during Inflammation

Leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions play an important role in inflammatory diseases such as sepsis. During inflammation, excessive migration of activated leukocytes across the vascular endothelium into key organs can lead to organ failure. A physiologically relevant biomimetic microfluidic assay (bMFA) has been developed and validated using several experimental and computational techniques, which can reproduce the entire leukocyte rolling/adhesion/migration cascade to study leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions. Microvascular networks obtained from in vivo images in rodents were digitized using a Geographic Information System (GIS) approach and microfabricated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on a microscope slide. To study the effect of shear rate and vascular topology on leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed to generate a corresponding map of shear rates and velocities throughout the network. The bMFA enables the quantification of leukocyte-endothelial cells interactions, including rolling velocity, number of adhered leukocytes in response to different shear rates, number of migrated leukocytes, endothelial cell permeability, adhesion molecule expression and other important variables. Furthermore, by using human-related samples, such as human endothelial cells and leukocytes, bMFA provides a tool for rapid screening of potential therapeutics to increase their clinical translatability.

In this protocol, a biomimetic microfluid assay, which can reproduce a physiologically relevant microvascular environment and reproduce the entire leukocyte adhesion/migration cascade, is employed to study leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions in inflammatory disease.

Leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions play an important role in inflammatory diseases such as sepsis. During inflammation, excessive migration of ...

3D Bioprinting for Rapid Vascular Network Fabrication Using Vessels-on-a-Plate

High-Throughput Bioprinting Method for Modeling Vascular Permeability in Standard Six-well Plates with Size and Pattern Flexibility

Vascular permeability is a key factor in developing therapies for disorders associated with compromised endothelium, such as endothelial dysfunction in coronary arteries and impaired function of the blood-brain barrier. Existing fabrication techniques do not adequately replicate the geometrical variation in vascular networks in the human body, which substantially influences disease progression; moreover, these techniques often involve multi-step fabrication procedures that hinder the high-throughput production necessary for pharmacological testing. This paper presents a bioprinting protocol for creating multiple vascular tissues with desired patterns and sizes directly on standard six-well plates, overcoming existing resolution and productivity challenges in bioprinting technology. A simplified fabrication approach was established to construct six hollow, perfusable channels within a hydrogel, which were subsequently lined with human umbilical vein endothelial cells to form a functional and mature endothelium. The computer-controlled nature of 3D bioprinting ensures high reproducibility and requires fewer manual fabrication steps than traditional methods. This highlights VOP's potential as an efficient high-throughput platform for modeling vascular permeability and advancing drug discovery.

Author Spotlight: Automated Bioprinting for High-Throughput Vascular Model Fabrication

We present a protocol for high-throughput production of vascular channels with flexible sizes and desired patterns on a standard six-well plate using 3D bioprinting technology, referred to as vessels-on-a-plate (VOP). This platform has the potential to advance the development of therapeutics for the disorders associated with compromised endothelium.

Vascular permeability is a key factor in developing therapies for disorders associated with compromised endothelium, such as endothelial dysfunction in ...