Summary
Published in Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (2023), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Sarkar, Anyesha, et al. Applied Electric Fields Polarize Initiation and Growth of Endothelial Sprouts
Applied Electric Fields Polarize Initiation and Growth of Endothelial Sprouts
Research Overview
Therapeutic electric fields applied to skin accelerate chronic wound healing and support skin grafts. Research has focused on how fields polarize migration of surface epidermal cells; their effect on the underlying vasculature had not been described. This study examined electric fields acting on endothelial sprouts, the precursors of functional blood vessels.
DC fields of the magnitude found near wounded epidermis polarized the initiation, growth, and turning of endothelial sprouts toward the anode, without changing how often primary sprouts or branches formed. Unidirectional electrical pulses polarized sprouts according to their time-averaged field magnitude, and polarization ran antiparallel to the direction of electrically driven cell migration.
Key Discoveries
- Wound-strength DC electric fields steered endothelial sprout initiation, growth, and turning toward the anode
- Fields polarized sprout direction without altering sprouting or branching frequency
- Pulsed fields acted through their time-averaged magnitude; polarization was antiparallel to electrotactic migration
