Abstract
Construction of three-dimensional (3D) tissues with pre-isolated cells is a promising achievement for novel medicine and drug-discovery research. Our laboratory constructs 3D tissues with an innovative and unique method for layering multiple cell sheets. Native animal tissues and organs have an abundance of capillaries to supply oxygen and nutrients, and to remove waste molecules. To construct even thicker 3D tissues by layering multiple cell sheets, it is critical to have medium or blood flow within the vascular networks of the cell sheets. Therefore, to perfuse medium in the cell sheet vascular network to maintain the viability of all cells, we developed two types of vascular beds. Such bioreactor systems, when combined with cell sheet engineering techniques, have produced functional vascularized 3D tissues. Here we explain and discuss the various processes to obtain vascular networks by properly connecting cell sheets and the engineering of 3D tissues.
