title: In vivo endothelization of tubular vascular grafts through in situ recruitment of endothelial and endothelial progenitor cells by RGD-fused mussel adhesive proteins.
abstract: The use of tissue mimics in vivo, including patterned vascular networks, is expected to facilitate the regeneration of functional tissues and organs with large volumes. Maintaining patency of channels in contact with blood is an important issue in the development of a functional vascular network. Endothelium is the only known completely non-thrombogenic material; however, results from treatments to induce endothelialization are inconclusive. The present study was designed to evaluate the clinical applicability of in situ recruitment of endothelial cells/endothelial progenitor cells (EC/EPC) and pre-endothelization using a recombinant mussel adhesive protein fused with arginine-glycine-aspartic acid peptide (MAP-RGD) coating in a model of vascular graft implantation. Microporous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were fabricated with salt leaching methods and their surfaces were modified with collagen and MAP-RGD. We then evaluated their anti-thrombogenicity with an in vitro hemocompatibility assessment and a 4-week implantation in the rabbit carotid artery. We observed that MAP-RGD coating reduced the possibility of early in vivo graft failure and enhanced re-endothelization by in situ recruitment of EC/EPC (patency rate: 2/3), while endothelization prior to implantation aggravated the formation of thrombosis and/or IH (patency rate: 0/3). The results demonstrated that in situ recruitment of EC/EPC by MAP-RGD could be a promising strategy for vascular applications. In addition, it rules out several issues associated with pre-endothelization, such as cell source, purity, functional modulation and contamination. Further evaluation of long term performance and angiogenesis from the luminal surface may lead to the clinical use of MAP-RGD for tubular vascular grafts and regeneration of large-volume tissues with functional vascular networks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Tae-Yun
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Jung Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Bum Jin
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jo-A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Jung Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Byoung Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyung Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: Jong-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Rhie
authors.forename: Dong-Woo
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002469:Cell Separation; D003094:Collagen / Q000494:pharmacology; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000187:drug effects; D066026:Endothelial Progenitor Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010477:Perfusion; D011091:Polyesters / Q000494:pharmacology; D016062:Porosity; D011506:Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011817:Rabbits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D013718:Tensile Strength / Q000187:drug effects; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009842:Oligopeptides; D011091:Polyesters; D011506:Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C037403:adhesive protein, mussel; C016240:polycaprolactone; D012965:Sodium Chloride; C047981:arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid; D003094:Collagen