Enhancement of in vivo endothelialization of tissue-engineered vascular grafts by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.
Successful reconstruction of large-diameter blood vessel in humans has been demonstrated using the tissue engineering technique, but improvement in patency of small-diameter bioartificial vascular graft remains a great challenge. This study reports that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) can enhance in vivo endothelialization of tissue-engineered vascular grafts, which could be used to improve patency of small-diameter vascular graft. Vascular grafts were tissue engineered with decellularized canine abdominal aortas and canine autologous bone marrow-derived cells. Prior to cell seeding onto decellularized graft matrices, bone marrow-derived cells were induced to differentiate into endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. The cell-seeded vascular grafts were implanted into the abdominal aortas of bone marrow donor dogs. Before and after graft implantation, G-CSF was administered subcutaneously to the dogs (n = 3). The grafts implanted into the dogs not receiving G-CSF were used as controls (n = 3). Eight weeks after implantation, grafts in both groups showed regeneration of vascular tissues including endothelium and smooth muscle. Importantly, endothelium formation was more extensive in the G-CSF-treated grafts than in the control grafts, as assessed with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and immunohistochemistry. In addition, intimal hyperplasia was significantly reduced in the G-CSF-treated grafts compared to the control grafts. This study suggests that G-CSF administration could be applied to improve patency of small-diameter tissue-engineered vascular grafts.
Cho
Seung-Woo
SW
Department of Bioengineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea.
Lim
Joung Eun
JE
Chu
Hun Su
HS
Hyun
Hye-Jin
HJ
Choi
Cha Yong
CY
Hwang
Ki-Chul
KC
Yoo
Kyung Jong
KJ
Kim
Dong-Ik
DI
Kim
Byung-Soo
BS
D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D004285:Dogs; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D012038:Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor