Is tissue-engineered heart valve replacement clinically applicable?
Tissue engineering of a heart valve has progressed dramatically in three different arenas: a biodegradable stented valve seeded with autogenous cells, decellularized allograft and xenograft valves that are seeded with autogenous cells, and decellularized allograft and xenograft valves that repopulate by adaptive remodeling in vivo. Preclinical evaluation and implants in sheep have been accomplished in each of these arenas, and clinical use of this emerging technology is occurring in the latter two. The clinical use of decellularized allografts that repopulate in vivo is expanding; however, its impact on allograft durability remains unknown.
Elkins
Ronald C
RC
Section of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, PO Box 26901, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, USA. ronald-elkins@ouhsc.edu
D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D011474:Prosthesis Design / Q000639:trends; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology