# Synthetic Mesenchymal Stem Cell Niches for Vascular Therapy

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO · 2020 · $625,601

## Abstract

Project Summary
 A huge and unmet clinical need is associated with hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction, which is
currently considered to be one of the most challenging forms of clinical vascular grafting. The high failure rates
associated with all types of dialysis vascular access, including arteriovenous fistulae and arteriovenous graft, result
in significant morbidity, mortality and economic cost. Despite the magnitude of this clinic problem, no effective
solutions are available. The end-stage renal disease and other health conditions of hemodialysis patients present
a hostile milieu, such as uremia, inflammation and flow disturbance caused by small and/or non-compliant vessel,
around the vascular access, which account for, at least partially, the access failure. The central hypothesis for
this proposal is that precision cell niches, developed under hemodialysis-relevant conditions and when applied to
the clinical setting of dialysis vascular access, prevent dialysis access failure. To test this hypothesis, we will
introduce cell-protective, regenerative signals in the precision cell niches, which functionalize mesenchymal stem
cells (MSCs) to override the hostile milieu impact and orchestrate the arterial regeneration, leading to patent,
robust vascular access. This project will use our novel biomaterials platform, which allows both the cell niche and
the niche-containing structure to be tailored using clinical inputs such as uremia, blood flow, vessel compliance
and diameter, with a goal of optimizing targeted arterial regeneration to reduce access failure.
 To pursue the research goal, three aims are proposed here. AIM 1 focuses on incorporating the precision cell
niches into a peri-vascular wrap and determining its effect on the arterialization of arteriovenous fistula under
simulated hemodialysis conditions. AIM 2 seeks to establish and spatially integrate distinct precision cell niche
designs to promote arteriovenous graft arterialization. AIM 3 will evaluate how the precision niche design can
assist MSC-based arterial regeneration for vascular access in a diseased swine model. If successful, the
precision vascular access platforms developed here could transform traditional clinical care paradigms for
dialysis vascular access. We envision that in the near future, nephrologists could have the access to a range of
vascular access devices derived from precision cell niche designs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10149210
- **Project number:** 5R01HL119371-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
- **Principal Investigator:** Wei Tan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $625,601
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-08-15 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10149210

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10149210, Synthetic Mesenchymal Stem Cell Niches for Vascular Therapy (5R01HL119371-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10149210. Licensed CC0.

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