title: Development of small-diameter vascular grafts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery and peripheral vascular pathologies, is the leading cause of mortality in the United States and Western countries. There is a pressing need to develop small-diameter vascular vessels for bypass surgery and other vascular reconstructive procedures. Tissue engineering offers the prospect of being able to meet the demand for replacement of diseased vessels. Significant advances have been made in recent studies and provide confidence that success is attainable. For instance, a completely cellular approach culturing cells into tissue sheets and wrapping these layers was able to form a layered cellular vascular graft with impressive strength.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our experiments, decellularization and heparin immobilization grafts from porcine tissues implanted in a canine model could be repopulated from the host cells, indicating the grafts' potential to develop into living tissues that can adapt and respond to changes in the body.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review summarizes the current status of vascular grafts used clinically, updates the most recent developments on vascular tissue engineering, and discusses the challenges for the future.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Surgeon Research Center, Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, NAB-2010, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Xinwen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Qizhi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Changyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular; D006801:Humans; D036103:Nanotechnology; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene