Linköping Studies in Health Sciences Thesis No. 99
Differentiation of Human
Dermal Fibroblasts
a New Tool in Vascular
Tissue Engineering
Lisa Karlsson
Linköping studies in health sciences, Thesis no. 98
Loss or damage of tissues and organs is a central problem in modern health care. Tissue engineering is an expanding field, which focuses on the development of functional substitutes for damaged tissues. A main limitation in this field is the difficulties associated with obtaining autologous cells.
The overall aim of this study was to investigate if human dermal fibroblasts can be used as a cell source for vascular tissue engineering. The possibility to induce differentiation of human dermal fibroblasts into an endothelial cell-like phenotype by culturing the cells in an endothelial growth medium was investigated. Furthermore, as an initial step in using these cells in vascular tissue engineering, their ability to endothelialize a surface in vitro was studied. The work in this thesis suggests that human dermal fibroblast may be a novel cell source for vascular tissue engineering. This can greatly facilitate the usage of several vascular tissue engineering applications.
Division of surgery
Department of clinical and experimental medicine SE-58185, Linköping, Sweden
Lisa K
arlsson
Dif
fer
entiation of
Human Der
mal Fibr
oblasts
a New T
ool in V
ascular Tissue Engineering
Linköping Studies in Health Sciences Thesis No. 98
Differentiation of Human
Dermal Fibroblasts
a New Tool in Vascular
Tissue Engineering
Lisa Karlsson
Linköping studies in health sciences, Thesis no. 99
Loss or damage of tissues and organs is a central problem in modern health care. Tissue engineering is an expanding field, which focuses on the development of functional substitutes for damaged tissues. A main limitation in this field is the difficulties associated with obtaining autologous cells.
The overall aim of this study was to investigate if human dermal fibroblasts can be used as a cell source for vascular tissue engineering. The possibility to induce differentiation of human dermal fibroblasts into an endothelial cell-like phenotype by culturing the cells in an endothelial growth medium was investigated. Furthermore, as an initial step in using these cells in vascular tissue engineering, their ability to endothelialize a surface in vitro was studied. The work in this thesis suggests that human dermal fibroblast may be a novel cell source for vascular tissue engineering. This can greatly facilitate the usage of several vascular tissue engineering applications.
Division of surgery
Department of clinical and experimental medicine SE-58185, Linköping, Sweden
