Engineering Vascular Niche for Bone Tissue Regeneration

The use of autografts for bone repair is limited by donor site morbidities and geometric requirements. Tissue engineering technology has been able to recreate living bone grafts, but important challenges remain. Here, we will discuss a paradigm for engineering personalized bone grafts that comprises autologous cells, native bone scaffold, and a perfusion bioreactor culture system. As the bone regeneration outcome is dependent on the establishment of functional vasculature, we focus on emergent vascularization strategies. We propose that angiogenic events leading to vascularization can be recapitulated by harnessing the inflammatory responses. Finally, we discuss endochondral ossification as a strategy for engineering functional and well-vascularized bone that supports the engraftment of hematopoietic cells.