Seminar Abstract: The microvasculature plays a key role in tissue perfusion, transport of mediators, and exchange of gases and metabolites to and from tissues. Microvascular dysfunction has emerged as an important contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Our studies employ human blood vessel organoids (BVOs) as a model of the microvasculature to delineate the mechanisms of microangiopathy caused by metabolic rewiring. BVOs recapitulated key features of the normal human microvasculature, including reliance on glycolytic metabolism, as concluded from metabolic flux assays using 13C-glucose labelling and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. The prompt structural remodelling that is observed, makes this model extremely attractive for mechanistic studies, identification of potential targets for novel therapeutic approaches and high throughput drug and small compound screening applications. Furthermore, the use of patient derived induced pluripotent stem cells to generate BVOs can capture the interpatient variation, predict drug responses more accurately and facilitate the development of precision medicine strategies.

Biosketch: Dr Anna Zampetaki is a Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Biology at King’s College London. She graduated from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with a BSc in Biology and a PhD in genetics. Following postdoctoral training at Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and St George’s University of London, she joined King’s College London. Dr Zampetaki’s group focuses on understanding the molecular basis of vascular injury and repair with a particular emphasis in metabolism. Ongoing work integrates regenerative medicine/ iPS cells, organoid technologies and gene editing systems to identify novel therapeutic targets and facilitate the development of precision medicine strategies.