Fig. 5.

Implanted vascular constructs in infarcted rat heart model with optical microangiography (OMAG) assessment of real-time perfusion 5 days post-implantation. a–c Doppler-based images of vascular flow in Langendorff perfused engrafted hearts for a healthy region, b control graft (self-assembled (SA)), and c patterned, perfusable graft (μV+SA). Top panels, high-resolution, non-quantitative OMAG images. Bottom panels, OMAG-V images with linear correlation between intensity and velocity. Scale bar, 500 μm. d Three-dimensional views of OMAG flow data and overlay of OMAG structure and flow data for SA graft and μV+SA graft. Scale bar, 500 μm. e Quantitation of vessel density of perfused vessels in healthy (red circles) and graft (purple circles) regions for SA and μV+SA. N = 9 and 8 biologically independent animals for SA and μV+SA, respectively. p = 0.0009 for SA healthy and graft, p = 0.0016 for μV+SA healthy and graft, p = 0.0012 for SA and μV+SA graft, p > 0.05 for all others (two-tailed t test). f Velocimetry measurements of blood flow velocity in small arterioles (diameter between 20 and 40 μm) of healthy and graft regions. N = 5 and 6 biologically independent animals for SA and μV+SA, respectively. p = 0.016 for SA healthy and graft, p = 0.023 for SA and μV+SA graft, p > 0.05 for all others (two-tailed t test). g Volumetric perfusion rate in SA and μV+SA grafts from velocimetry data. N = 5 and 6 biologically independent animals for SA and μV+SA, respectively. p = 0.038 for SA and μV+SA graft (two-tailed t test). Representative images for a–d from 5 biologically independent animals containing SA grafts, 6 biologically independent animals containing μV+SA grafts, and 11 corresponding healthy regions from all animals containing grafts, with similar results. Error bars, mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 determined using two-tailed t test