title: USPIO-labeled textile materials for non-invasive MR imaging of tissue-engineered vascular grafts.
abstract: Non-invasive imaging might assist in the clinical translation of tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVG). It can e.g. be used to facilitate the implantation of TEVG, to longitudinally monitor their localization and function, and to provide non-invasive and quantitative feedback on their remodeling and resorption. We here incorporated ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based textile fibers, and used them to prepare imageable tissue-engineered vascular grafts (iTEVG). The USPIO-labeled scaffold materials were molded with a mixture of fibrin, fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells, and then endothelialized in a bioreactor under physiological flow conditions. The resulting grafts could be sensitively detected using T1-, T2- and T2*-weighted MRI, both during bioreactor cultivation and upon surgical implantation into sheep, in which they were used as an arteriovenous shunt between the carotid artery and the jugular vein. In vivo, the iTEVG were shown to be biocompatible and functional. Post-mortem ex vivo analyses provided evidence for efficient endothelialization and for endogenous neo-vascularization within the biohybrid vessel wall. These findings show that labeling polymer-based textile materials with MR contrast agents is straightforward and safe, and they indicate that such theranostic tissue engineering approaches might be highly useful for improving the production, performance, personalization and translation of biohybrid vascular grafts.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Molecular Imaging, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Marianne E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tissue Engineering & Textile Implants, Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 20, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.affiliation: Institut für Textiltechnik, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Strasse 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Molecular Imaging, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wehner
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Molecular Imaging, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Zhuojun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Molecular Imaging, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gremse
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Molecular Imaging, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Volkmar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tissue Engineering & Textile Implants, Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 20, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Lisanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rongen
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tissue Engineering & Textile Implants, Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 20, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tissue Engineering & Textile Implants, Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 20, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frese
authors.affiliation: Institut für Textiltechnik, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Strasse 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Valentine N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Gesché
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Zandvoort
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tissue Engineering & Textile Implants, Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 20, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mela
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tissue Engineering & Textile Implants, Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 20, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Institut für Textiltechnik, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Strasse 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: Stefan.Jockenhoevel@ita.rwth-aachen.de.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jockenhoevel
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Molecular Imaging, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: fkiessling@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kiessling
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Experimental Molecular Imaging, University Clinic, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Dept. of Controlled Drug Delivery, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. Electronic address: tlammers@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Twan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lammers
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012756:Sheep; D013784:Textiles; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003911:Dextrans; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; C097921:ferumoxtran-10
keywords: MRI; Textile material; Tissue engineering; USPIO; Vascular graft