Polymer coating of porcine decellularized and cross-linked aortic grafts.
This article investigates a method of modifying and optimizing the biocompatibility of decellularized vascular bioimplants when treated with a specialized, drug eluting coating. For this purpose, we carried out aortic transplantations using a porcine model. Decellularized, cross-linked aortic grafts were coated with poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA). To this coating, we added the anticoagulant drug lepirudin which, following transplantation, would be linearly eluted. These aortic grafts are easily manipulated in surgery. It was shown that, as a result of the lepirudin-eluting coating, the rate of thrombogenesis was reduced and the patency rate was significantly improved. However, lumen-stenosing pseudointima developed in all of the transplants and was not effected by PDLLA coating. Furthermore, no evidence of recellularisation was documented. This trial demonstrates that polymer coating of decellularized tissue is possible. Neointimal hyperplasia and the absence of cellular repopulation mark the negative consequences of this concept.
Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Charité, Campus Virchow, University Medicine Berlin, Berlin 13353, Germany. christoph.heidenhain@charite.de
Christoph
C
Heidenhain
Wilko
W
Weichert
Gerhard
G
Schmidmaier
Britt
B
Wildemann
Moritz
M
Hein
Peter
P
Neuhaus
Michael
M
Heise
D000818:Animals; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000378:metabolism; D001011:Aorta / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000637:transplantation*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006629:Hirudins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D034421:Sus scrofa
D000925:Anticoagulants; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D006629:Hirudins; D011108:Polymers; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C083544:lepirudin