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The Effects Of Smooth Muscle Cells On Engineered Microvasculatures In Fibrin Hydrogels, Areck A. Ucuzian

Dissertations

Capillaries are comprised of two cell types: the endothelial cells (ECs) which line the lumen of the capillary, and the supporting pericytes which are closely apposed to the abluminal surface of the capillary wall (sometimes called mural cells). These pericytes are phenotypic derivations of mesenchymal organ stromal cells (from smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts in blood vessels, for example), are recruited and incorporate into the neocapillaries, and are known to mediate reciprocal interactions with ECs during angiogenesis. The overall purpose of this project is to determine how smooth muscle cells (SMCs) affect angiogenesis during microvascular development in fibrin hydrogels using …