ABSTRACT
The eld of regenerative medicine has witnessed impressive advances over the past 25-30 years, moving us ever closer to the goal of translating engineered tissue constructs into human patients. However, despite an exponentially expanding literature documenting advances in biomaterials and stem cell biology, the two biggest factors limiting the clinical applicability of engineered tissues 20 years ago continue to be the biggest hurdles today: the ability to generate tissues that function equivalently to the native tissues they are intended to replace, and the ability to vascularize these tissues to sustain their metabolic demands. With respect to the latter of these two hurdles, an improved fundamental understanding of the process of blood vessel assembly in development and disease may lead to new strategies to vascularize tissues.
