STAGE Development of flow experiments in 3D printing carotid of sickle cells patients

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most prevalent and severe inherited monogenic disorder which results from a mutation in the b-globin gene. Gene therapy shows promise for treating SCD patients as a definitive therapeutic strategy. Cerebral vasculopathy including arteriopathy appears in childhood and is responsible for ischemic stroke, making SCD the first etiology of stroke in children as well as in young adults. Therefore, these complications are among the selection criteria to enroll patients in gene therapy trials.
In order to estimate the impact of this treatment, we develop an in vitro model for monitoring the cerebral vasculopathy in SCD patients received gene therapy by mathematical modelling followed by 3D-printing of patients'carotid from MRI and importing their Doppler parameters by a programmable pump. Fluidic experiments will be performed in this 3D printing model to evaluate effects of shearstress on endothelial dysfunction and development of stenosis.
For this purpose, Master student recruted will develop a 3D flow co-culture of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) differentiated from from adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).
This co-culture aims to reproduce the blood arterial wall histology parameters and will be validated by using specific markers (FACS/Immunostaining) and histological analyses.