title: Tissue-Engineered Tubular Heart Valves Combining a Novel Precontraction Phase with the Self-Assembly Method.
abstract: Recently, the tubular shape has been suggested as an effective geometry for tissue-engineered heart valves, allowing easy fabrication, fast implantation, and a minimal crimped footprint from a transcatheter delivery perspective. This simple design is well suited for the self-assembly method, with which the only support for the cells is the extracellular matrix they produce, allowing the tissue to be completely free from exogenous materials during its entire fabrication process. Tubular constructs were produced by rolling self-assembled human fibroblast sheets on plastic mandrels. After maturation, the tubes were transferred onto smaller diameter mandrels and allowed to contract freely. This precontraction phase thickened the tissue and prevented further contraction, while improving fusion between the self-assembled layers and aligning the cells circumferentially. When mounted in a pulsed-flow bioreactor, the valves showed good functionality with large leaflets coaptation and opening area. Although physiological aortic flow conditions were not reached, the leaflets could withstand a 1 Hz pulsed flow with a 300 mL/s peak flow rate and a 70 mmHg peak transvalvular pressure. This study shows that the self-assembly method, which has already proven its potential for the production of small diameter vascular grafts, could also be used to achieve functional tubular heart valves.
authors: Département de génie mécanique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval, Pavillon Adrien-Pouliot, 1065, av. de la Médecine, local 1504, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.|Centre de recherche en organogénèse expérimentale/LOEX, CMDGT/LOEX Aile-R, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Hôpital Enfant-Jésus, 1401, 18e rue, Québec, QC, G1J 1Z4, Canada.
authors: Maxime
authors: M
authors: Picard-Deland
authors: Département de génie mécanique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval, Pavillon Adrien-Pouliot, 1065, av. de la Médecine, local 1504, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada. jean.ruel@gmc.ulaval.ca.
authors: Jean
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1520-0278
authors: J
authors: Ruel
authors: Centre de recherche en organogénèse expérimentale/LOEX, CMDGT/LOEX Aile-R, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Hôpital Enfant-Jésus, 1401, 18e rue, Québec, QC, G1J 1Z4, Canada.
authors: Todd
authors: T
authors: Galbraith
authors: Département de génie mécanique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval, Pavillon Adrien-Pouliot, 1065, av. de la Médecine, local 1504, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.|Centre de recherche en organogénèse expérimentale/LOEX, CMDGT/LOEX Aile-R, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Hôpital Enfant-Jésus, 1401, 18e rue, Québec, QC, G1J 1Z4, Canada.
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: Tremblay
authors: Centre de recherche en organogénèse expérimentale/LOEX, CMDGT/LOEX Aile-R, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Hôpital Enfant-Jésus, 1401, 18e rue, Québec, QC, G1J 1Z4, Canada.|Département de chirurgie, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, 1050, ave de la Médecine, bureau 4633, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
authors: Fabien
authors: F
authors: Kawecki
authors: Centre de recherche en organogénèse expérimentale/LOEX, CMDGT/LOEX Aile-R, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Hôpital Enfant-Jésus, 1401, 18e rue, Québec, QC, G1J 1Z4, Canada.|Département de chirurgie, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, 1050, ave de la Médecine, bureau 4633, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
authors: Lucie
authors: L
authors: Germain
authors: Centre de recherche en organogénèse expérimentale/LOEX, CMDGT/LOEX Aile-R, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Hôpital Enfant-Jésus, 1401, 18e rue, Québec, QC, G1J 1Z4, Canada.|Département de chirurgie, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, 1050, ave de la Médecine, bureau 4633, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
authors: François A
authors: FA
authors: Auger
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D023822:Tissue Engineering
keywords: Aortic valve; Fibroblast contraction; Pulmonary valve; Pulsed-flow bioreactor; Tissue engineering