# Two-stage miRNA delivering scaffolds for patient-originated cells to regenerate blood vessels

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $746,181

## Abstract

Two-stage miRNA delivering scaffolds for patient-originated cells to regenerate blood vessels
There are about 1.4 million arterial bypass operations annually in the US, but many patients who require
arterial bypass procedures do not have suitable vessels for use. Although synthetic materials are frequently
used to treat vascular disease, their failure rate, especially in replacing small-diameter vessels, remains high.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have enormous potential for the repair of diseased or traumatized blood
vessels. Indeed, we, among the first, have successfully induced iPSC differentiation to smooth muscle cells
(SMCs) in culture and on biomimetic 3D scaffolds. However, it takes more than 2 months to generate patient-
specific iPSCs and iPSC-derived SMCs and there is potential for oncogenesis. Provocatively, we have
established a direct differentiation protocol for SMCs from patient fibroblasts using three determined factors.
Also, we found that microRNA-10a (miR-10a) plays an important role in SMC differentiation and helps SMCs
maintain the differentiated contractile phenotype. For SMC direct differentiation and future clinical application,
an efficient non-viral vector is highly desired. Fortunately, we recently developed a novel hyperbranched
polymer vector and a two-stage delivery system to highly efficiently deliver microRNAs and plasmids into cells
in a temporally controlled manner. Our long-term goal is to regenerate functional human blood vessels using
patient-originated fibroblasts. The key to functional blood vessel regeneration using fibroblasts is the in situ
direct differentiation and maintenance of the contractile phenotype of the vascular SMCs. In this proposal, we
hypothesize that sustained and highly efficient miRNA/plasmid delivery into fibroblasts and SMCs on a 3D
nanofibrous scaffold will regenerate a contractile SMC-laden functional vascular graft. The specific aims of this
project are: 1) Determine the mechanistic roles of miR-10a, HDAC4 and associated signaling pathways in
fibroblast/SMC transdifferentiation; 2) Develop anatomically-designed nanofibrous scaffolds using a reverse 3D
printing technology and immobilize sustained two-stage miRNA/plasmid delivery system on the scaffolds; 3)
Evaluate engineered vascular scaffold in vitro and in vivo. By accomplishing these specific aims, we will
improve mechanistic understandings of fibroblast/SMC transdifferentiation how to maintain the SMC contractile
phenotype in the vascular scaffold and develop key miRNA/DNA delivery and 3D tissue engineering
technologies to advance the therapeutic utility of patient-originated cells for human vascular regeneration.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9840933
- **Project number:** 5R01HL136231-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** YUQING Eugene CHEN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $746,181
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-12-20 → 2022-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9840933

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9840933, Two-stage miRNA delivering scaffolds for patient-originated cells to regenerate blood vessels (5R01HL136231-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9840933. Licensed CC0.

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