FIG. 2.

(A, B) Representative alignment maps of uncompacted (day 5; A) and compacted (day 8; B) constructs, in which the red lines indicate the local direction and strength of alignment. Scale bars=1 mm. The black lines in (B) indicate the approximate locations of inlet, middle, and outlet cross sections. (C–J) Representative longitudinal sections stained for CD31 (red) of control and flow constructs. Pericytes (PCs) were green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled (green), and nuclei were stained with Hoechst 33342 (blue). The axial direction is vertical. The arrows in (C, D) indicate some of the microvessels with lumens. Scale bars=100 μm. (K) Birefringence (a measure of fibril alignment), quantified from polarimetry, increased with compaction, but did not vary between the static and flow conditions, suggesting that flow did not have an effect on fibril alignment. (L) Microvessel anisotropy index, a measure of microvessel alignment obtained from images, also increased with compaction but did not vary between the static and flow conditions. ^$p<0.05 in comparison to day 5 control. ⁺p<0.05 in comparison to day 8 control. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea