Angiogenesis and Functional Vessel Formation Induced by Interstitial Flow and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Using a Microfluidic Chip

Angiogenesis occurs during both physiological and pathological processes. In this study, a microfluidic chip for the development of angiogenesis was utilized to assess angiogenic sprouting and functional vessel formation. We also found that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was a determinant of the initiation of vascular sprouts, while the direction of these sprouts was greatly influenced by interstitial flow. Isoforms of VEGF such as VEGF(121), VEGF(165), and VEGF(189) displayed different angiogenic properties on the chip as assessed by sprout length and number, vessel perfusion, and connectivity. VEGF(165) had the highest capacity to induce vascular sprouting among the three isoforms assessed and furthermore, also induced functional vessel formation. This chip could be used to analyze the effect of different angiogenic factors and drugs, as well as to explore the mechanism of angiogenesis induced by such factors.