Cyclic strain improves strength and function of a collagen-based tissue-engineered vascular media.
Tissue-engineered blood vessels may provide a solution to the lack of suitable blood vessels for coronary and peripheral vessel bypass grafting. Cyclic strain can be used to provide a more physiological environment that may result in tissue that more closely resembles native artery. In this study, cyclic strain is applied to a collagen-based, tissue-engineered vascular medium. An increased culture time was used to allow the tissue to adhere to the silastic sleeve and to eliminate longitudinal compaction. Cyclic strain improved tissue strength through increased collagen content as well as some radial tissue compaction. Mechanical stimulation promoted a more contractile phenotype and led to a greater contractile response to the vasoconstrictor endothelin-1.
Schutte
Stacey C
SC
Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
Chen
Zhenzhen
Z
Brockbank
Kelvin G M
KG
Nerem
Robert M
RM
D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 / Q000378:metabolism; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D003094:Collagen; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9