title: Crosslinking of saphenous vein ECM by procyanidins for small diameter blood vessel replacement.
abstract: Xenogenic decellularized vessels, mainly composed of extracellular matrices (ECMs), are thought to be one of the alternative resources of small-diameter blood vessels due to abundant source, tubular configuration, vascular microstructure, and good cytocompatibility. However, the main shortcomings of ECM vessels are their low chemical stability, easy calcification, immunogenicity, and high risk of thrombogenicity. Previous studies have shown that, glutaraldehyde (GA), as a crosslinking agent, led to significant calcification and cytotoxicity for the prepared ECM substitutes. To overcome the drawbacks of pure and GA-crosslinked vascular alternatives of small-diameter blood vessels, procyanidins (PC), a naturally derived polyphenol with anti-inflammatory and platelet aggregation inhibiting bioactivities, was applied to crosslink the decellularized bovine saphenous vein ECM (svECM). After crosslinking, the obtained svECM substitutes exhibited natural tubular configuration with significantly improved mechanical properties, proper resistance to proteolysis, high chemical stability, and excellent anticalcification property. The PC-crosslinked svECM substitutes were cytocompatible for cells adhesion and proliferation, and blood compatible for erythrocytes with far less hemolysis than that of safety standard. Furthermore, the PC-crosslinked svECM substitutes showed distinct antithrombosis and anti-immunogenicity potential. With these advantages, it is suggested that the PC-crosslinked svECM may be used as a practical substitutes of small diameter blood vessels.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China.
authors.forename: Wanyin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.forename: Hongxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chengtie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jiamin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaoning
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Hongfeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ziyan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D044946:Biflavonoids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D002392:Catechin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002417:Cattle; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry*; D044945:Proanthocyanidins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D044946:Biflavonoids; D044945:Proanthocyanidins; C017674:procyanidin; D002392:Catechin
keywords: crosslinking; extracellular matrix; procyanidins; small diameter blood vessel; vascular substitute