Mimicking Angiogenesis in vitro: Three-dimensional Co-culture of Vascular Endothelial Cells and Perivascular Cells in Collagen Type I Gels
Markus Auler,
Lena Pitzler,
Ernst Pöschl,
Zhigang Zhou,
Bent Brachvogel
Affiliations
Markus Auler
Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Cologne, GermanyMedical Faculty, Center for Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Lena Pitzler
Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Cologne, GermanyMedical Faculty, Center for Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Ernst Pöschl
Biomedical Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
Zhigang Zhou
Biomedical Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UKMedical Faculty, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
Bent Brachvogel
Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Cologne, GermanyMedical Faculty, Center for Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Angiogenesis defines the process of formation of new vascular structures form existing blood vessels, involved during development, repair processes like wound healing but also linked to pathological changes. During angiogenic processes, endothelial cells build a vascular network and recruit perivascular cells to form mature, stable vessels. Endothelial cells and perivascular cells secret and assemble a vascular basement membrane and interact via close cell-cell contacts. To mimic these processes in vitro we have developed a versatile three-dimensional culture system where perivascular cells (PVC) are co-cultured with human umbilical cord vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) in a collagen type I gel. This co-culture system can be used to determine biochemical and cellular processes during neoangiogenic events with a wide range of analyses options.
