Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality around the globe. The development of a functional and appropriate substitute for small diameter blood vessel replacement is still a challenge to overcome the main drawbacks of autografts and the inadequate performances of synthetic prostheses made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, Dacron) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE, Goretex). Therefore, vascular tissue engineering has become a promising approach for small diameter blood vessel regeneration as demonstrated by the increasing interest dedicated to this field. This review is focused on the most relevant and recent studies concerning vascular tissue engineering for small diameter blood vessel applications. Specifically, the present work reviews research on the development of tissue-engineered vascular grafts made of decellularized matrices and natural and/or biodegradable synthetic polymers and their realization without scaffold.
Highlights
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death around the world
The development of a functional and appropriate substitute for small diameter blood vessel replacement is still a challenge to overcome the main drawbacks of autografts and the inadequate performances of synthetic prostheses made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, Dacron) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene
This review summarizes the most relevant and recent studies on vascular tissue engineering for small diameter blood vessel regeneration, focusing on the development of scaffolds made of decellularized matrices and natural and/or biodegradable synthetic polymers and on the realization of tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) without scaffold (Figure 1)
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death around the world. In 2008, 17.3 million people died from cardiovascular related reasons; 7.3 million were due to coronary heart disease [1]. The use of PET or ePTFE for small diameter blood vessels leads to several complications like aneurysm, intimal hyperplasia, calcification, thrombosis, infection, and lack of growth potential for pediatric applications [3, 4, 9]. These drawbacks are mainly correlated to the regeneration of a nonfunctional endothelium and a mismatch between the mechanical properties of grafts and native blood vessels [3, 5, 6]. This review summarizes the most relevant and recent studies on vascular tissue engineering for small diameter blood vessel regeneration, focusing on the development of scaffolds made of decellularized matrices and natural and/or biodegradable synthetic polymers and on the realization of tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) without scaffold (Figure 1)
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