This reference work presents the basic principles of angiogenesis induction, including the roles of signaling factors such as hypoxia-inducible factors, biophysical stimulation and angiogenic cells. The book also covers lymphogenesis induction. Both the established fundamentals in the field as well as new trends in the vascularization of engineered tissues are discussed. These include pre-vascularization strategies using preparation of channeled scaffolds and preparation of decellularized blood vessel trees, approaches to inducing formation of microvasculature and approaches to inducing the growth of vascular networks. The authors expand on these concepts with current studies of dual-level approaches to engineer vascularized tissue composites. The book concludes with a discussion of current clinical approaches and the use of vascular grafts in the context of providing clinical practice with new tissue engineering strategies. pdf

The notion of being able to engineer complete organs has inspired an entire generation of researchers. While recent years have brought significant progress in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, the immense challenges encountered when trying to engineer an entire organ have to be acknowledged. Despite a good understanding of cell phenotypes, cellular niches and cell-to-biomaterial interactions, the formation of tissues composed of multiple cells remains highly challenging. Only a step-by-step approach will allow the future production of a living tissue construct ready for implantation and to augment organ function. In this book, expert authors present the current state of this approach. It offers a concise overview and serves as a great starting point for anyone interested in the application of tissue engineering or regenerative medicine for organ engineering. Each chapter contains a short overview including physiological and pathological changes as well as the current clinical need. The potential cell sources and suitable biomaterials for each organ type are discussed and possibilities to produce organ-like structures are illustrated. The ultimate goal is for the generated small tissues to unfold their full potential in vivo and to serve as a native tissue equivalent. By integrating and evolving, these implants will form functional tissue in-vivo. This book discusses the desired outcome by focusing on well-defined functional readouts. Each chapter addresses the status of clinical translations and closes with the discussion of current bottlenecks and an outlook for the coming years.   A successful regenerative medicine approach could solve organ shortage by providing biological substitutes for clinical use - clearly, this merits a collaborative effort. pdf