Endothelial Progenitor Cells as a Sole Source for Ex Vivo Seeding of Tissue-Engineered Heart Valves
Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSES: We investigated whether circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) can be used as a cell source for the creation of a tissue-engineered heart valve (TEHV). METHODS: Trileaflet valved conduits were fabricated using nonwoven polyglycolic acid/poly-4-hydroxybutyrate polymer. Ovine peripheral blood EPCs were dynamically seeded onto a valved conduit and incubated for 7, 14, and 21 days. RESULTS: Before seeding, EPCs were shown to express CD31(+), eNOS(+), and VE-Cadherin(+) but not alpha-smooth muscle actin. Histological analysis demonstrated relatively homogenous cellular ingrowth throughout the valved conduit. TEHV constructs revealed the presence of endothelial cell (EC) markers and alpha-smooth muscle actin(+) cells comparable with native valves. Protein levels were comparable with native valves and exceeded those in unseeded controls. EPC-TEHV demonstrated a temporal pattern of matrix metalloproteinases-2/9 expression and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase activities comparable to that of native valves. Mechanical properties of EPC-TEHV demonstrated significantly greater stiffness than that of the unseeded scaffolds and native valves. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating EPC appears to have the potential to provide both interstitial and endothelial functions and could potentially serve as a single-cell source for construction of autologous heart valves.
Source: Tissue Engineering Part A
Institutions: Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard University, University of Pittsburgh, Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Tepha (United States)
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: American Heart Association, Brigham and Women's Hospital, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
Awards: NOVEL ANGIOGENESIS INHIBITOR FROM CARTILAGE, G1663237636, G1798196962, Regulation of Angiogenesis, G3606234967, TISSUE ENGINEERING OF PULMONARY VALVES AND PULMONARY ART, Biomechanical Optimization of TE Heart Valves, Tissue Engineering of Pulmonary Valves, G4851961055, G572139350, G7462912192, G8253803766, Children's Hospital Boston George O'Brien Urology Research Center, G9000174362
OpenAlex ID: W2018686909