A bona fide adaptable in vitro microcirculation model is provided by integrating a 3-D printed network of endothelial-cell lined perfusion channels, formed via sacrificial casting in a gel matrix, with a native, adaptable microvasculature matured from native microvessels added to the gel matrix. Responsive vascular adaptation exhibited by the in vitro microcirculation is physiologically relevant. Methods for fabricating, devices, models and investigative platforms for pharmaceutical applications, vascular mechanism and microvessel-parenchyma interaction studies, and vascularizing strategies for tissue engineering applications are also disclosed.
