Tissue engineering is an active area of investigation as an ultimate strategy for tissue and organ replacement. A major barrier to the ability to synthesize tissues for clinical use has been difficulties in vascularizing large volumes of engineered tissue. Preliminary data has shown that the induction of blood vessel growth within engineered skeletal muscle can be achieved using vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This research training proposal seeks to further develop this model of angiogenesis induction using bladder smooth muscle tissue supplemented with VEGF. Human bladder smooth muscle will be seeded with collagen in the subcutaneous tissue of athymic mice with VEGF supplementation. The tissue will be retrieved at a later date, and the phenotypic and functional characteristics of engineered bladder muscle tissue will be investigated. This novel system of bioengineered smooth muscle would have applications in the treatment of incontinence and other disorders wherein there is a deficiency in functional smooth muscle tissue.
