Tissue-Engineered Vascular Graft with Co-Culture of Smooth Muscle Cells and Human Endothelial Vein Cells on an Electrospun Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) Microtube Array Membrane.

Chee Ho Chew,Chien-Chung Chen,Amanda Chen,Tsai-Mu Cheng,Bo-Long Sheu,Austin Chang,Chun-Ming Shih,Wan-Ting Huang

doi:10.3390/membranes11100732

Chee Ho Chew, Chien-Chung Chen + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11100732

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Journal: Membranes	Publication Date: Sep 27, 2021
Citations: 7	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Taipei Medical University, University of Washington

Abstract

Coronary artery disease is one of the major diseases that plagues today’s modern society. Conventional treatments utilize synthetic vascular grafts such as Dacron® and Teflon® in bypass graft surgery. Despite the wide adaptation, these synthetic grafts are often plagued with weaknesses such as low hemocompatibility, thrombosis, intimal hyperplasia, and risks of graft infection. More importantly, these synthetic grafts are not available at diameters of less than 6 mm. In view of these challenges, we strived to develop and adapt the electrospun Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA) Microtube Array Membrane (MTAM) vascular graft for applications smaller than 6 mm in diameter. Homogenously porous PLGA MTAMs were successfully electrospun at 5.5–8.5 kV under ambient conditions. Mechanically, the PLGA MTAMs registered a maximum tensile strength of 5.57 ± 0.85 MPa and Young’s modulus value of 1.134 ± 0.01 MPa; while MTT assay revealed that seven-day Smooth Muscle Cells (SMCs) and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) registered a 6 times and 2.4 times higher cell viability when cultured in a co-culture setting in medium containing α-1 haptaglobulin. When rolled into a vascular graft, the PLGA MTAMs registered an overall degradation of 82% after 60 days of cell co-culture. After eight weeks of culturing, immunohistochemistry staining revealed the formation of a monolayer of HUVECs with tight junctions on the surface of the PLGA MTAM, and as for the SMCs housed within the lumens of the PLGA MTAMs, a monolayer with high degree of orientation was observed. The PLGA MTAM registered a burst pressure of 1092.2 ± 175.3 mmHg, which was sufficient for applications such as small diameter blood vessels. Potentially, the PLGA MTAM could be used as a suitable substrate for vascular engineering.

Highlights

In this modern era, the sedentary life style has significantly contributed to a myriad of ‘diseases of the modern life’
18 wt.% of Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA) shell solution was prepared by dissolving PLGA
MO, USA) in 40 mL of double-distilled water. Both solutions were successfully electrospun at 5.5–8.5 kV, at a flow rate of 5 mL/h. and 4 mL/h. on a rotating drum, which revolved at 200 rounds per minute under ambient condition

Summary

Introduction

The sedentary life style has significantly contributed to a myriad of ‘diseases of the modern life’. One of the leading diseases is Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), which is the result of the narrowing of the blood vessels that leads to the blockage of it. One of the most commonly performed surgeries for the treatment of CAD is Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG). To date, vascular sourced from autologous sources generally produces the best outcome [3]. Despite these advantages, it is common to find vascular of poor quality. The saphenous vein is one of the major donors of autologous sourced vascular grafts, but up to 30% of these veins are unusable due to poor quality [4]

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