Tissue engineering of acellular vascular grafts capable of somatic growth in young lambs.
Treatment of congenital heart defects in children requiring right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction typically involves multiple open-heart surgeries because all existing graft materials have no growth potential. Here we present an 'off-the-shelf' vascular graft grown from donor fibroblasts in a fibrin gel to address this critical unmet need. In a proof-of-concept study, the decellularized grafts are implanted as a pulmonary artery replacement in three young lambs and evaluated to adulthood. Longitudinal ultrasounds document dimensional growth of the grafts. The lambs show normal growth, increasing body weight by 366% and graft diameter and volume by 56% and 216%, respectively. Explanted grafts display physiological strength and stiffness, complete lumen endothelialization and extensive population by mature smooth muscle cells. The grafts also show substantial elastin deposition and a 465% increase in collagen content, without signs of calcification, aneurysm or stenosis. Collectively, our data support somatic growth of this completely biological graft.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Zeeshan
Z
Syedain
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Jay
J
Reimer
Experimental Surgical Services, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Matthew
M
Lahti
Experimental Surgical Services, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
James
J
Berry
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Sandra
S
Johnson
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.|Department of Chemical Engineering &Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Robert T
RT
Tranquillo
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