title: The use of animal models in developing the discipline of cardiovascular tissue engineering: a review.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease remains one of the major causes of death and disability in the Western world. Tissue engineering offers the prospect of being able to meet the demand for replacement of heart valves, vessels for coronary and lower limb bypass surgery and the generation of cardiac tissue for addition to the diseased heart. In order to test prospective tissue-engineered devices, these constructs must first be proven in animal models before receiving CE marking or FDA approval for a clinical trial. The choice of animal depends on the nature of the tissue-engineered construct being tested. Factors that need to be considered include technical requirements of implanting the construct, availability of the animal, cost and ethical considerations. In this paper, we review the history of animal studies in cardiovascular tissue engineering and the uses of animal tissue as sources for tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Centre, University Department of Surgery, Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London, NW3 2QG, UK.
authors.forename: S Tawqeer
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.forename: Henryk J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Salacinski
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Seifalian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000601:surgery; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006351:Heart Valves / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D011323:Primates; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D012756:Sheep; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*