In vitro study of endothelial cells lining vascular grafts grown within the recipient's peritoneal cavity.
A living-tissue conduit with strong mechanical properties was used to produce small-diameter vessels. To improve blood compatibility, a shear-resistant confluent monolayer endothelium was formed on the luminal surface of the conduit. Under mechanical stimulation induced by pulsatile flow in a bioreactor, abrupt high-flow shear stress of 15.3 +/- 4.6 dynes/cm2 was applied to endothelial cells (ECs) seeded onto the lumen of a living-tissue conduit after 2 days of static culture. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that most of the ECs were washed off after 3 days of dynamic culture. When shear stress was increased stepwise from 1.5 +/- 0.8 to 15.3 +/- 4.6 dynes/cm2 and applied to the ECs, scanning electron microscopy images of the luminal surface revealed that the confluent monolayer ECs were highly elongated and oriented to the flow direction, similar to findings in natural arteries in vivo. The results indicated that in vitro flow conditions played a key role in determining the durability of the EC layer. Careful design of the bioreactor and careful selection of the culture conditions will greatly improve the chances of producing a useful anti-thrombogenic surface for tissue-engineered small-diameter vessels.
Zhang
Zhi-Xiong
ZX
College of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guang Zhou, People's Republic of China.
Xi
Ting-Fei
TF
Wang
Ying-Jun
YJ
Chen
Xiao-Song
XS
Zhang
Jian
J
Wang
Chun-Ren
CR
Gu
Yong-Quan
YQ
Chen
Liang
L
Li
Jian-Xin
JX
Chen
Bing
B
D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D019149:Bioreactors; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D004285:Dogs; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010529:Peritoneal Cavity / Q000166:cytology*; D012399:Rotation; D013997:Time Factors
D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; C013830:baysilon; D005947:Glucose