Cultivation of endothelial progenitor cells on fibrin matrix and layering on dacron/polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts.

Completely biological tissue-engineered vascular graft is an upcoming substitute for damaged blood vessel, but its clinical use is currently limited due to poor mechanical strength. Therefore, at present, polymeric small-diameter vascular grafts lined with endothelial cells (ECs) to reduce graft thrombosis may be a more viable option. Successful construction of EC-seeded artificial grafts faces some challenges such as (i) retention of endothelial lining; and (ii) availability of differentiated autologous cells. Biomaterial surfaces that are modified by depositing extracellular matrix (ECM) components may stabilize cells in the lumen against forces of blood flow. Adult stem cells such as endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) circulate in the blood and they usually attach to the exposed matrix at the injured blood vessel site. Depending on the signaling capabilities of ECM, cells may differentiate into ECs,, and if a similar composition of the matrix is provided in vitro, EPCs isolated from blood might get differentiated and thus autologous cells for tissue engineering may be obtained. In this in vitro study, ECM scaffold consisting of biomolecules such as fibrin, fibronectin, and gelatin along with growth factors is found to have supported differentiation of EPC into EC. Further, the ECM precoated on Dacron and polytetrafluoroethylene is found to have supported the formation of EC monolayer that synthesized nitric oxide, and resisted shear stress. Thus, biomimetic fibrin composite is found to be suitable not only to seed cells on currently available artificial grafts but also to obtain differentiated EC from EPC.