Enhancement of mesenchymal stem cell attachment to decellularized porcine aortic valve scaffold by in vitro coating with antibody against CD90: a preliminary study on antibody-modified tissue-engineered heart valve.

The importance of cell adhesion to the scaffold in the tissue-engineered heart valve remains to be determined. The current study examined the feasibility of conjugating antibody against CD90 to a decellularized porcine aortic valve scaffold and binding mesenchymal stem cells to that scaffold through interaction with a cell surface antigen. After decellularization, the porcine aortic valve was reacted with biotin, avidin, and biotinylated anti-rat CD90 antibody sequentially and inserted into a laminar flow system used to test the effect of laminar shear stress. Rat bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) were injected and circulated in a flow system to study the ability of anti-CD90 antibody to trap and immobilize cells on the valve surface. The results demonstrated that anti-CD90 antibody on the valve surface remains bound, even under high shear conditions. Compared with the control valve (no antibody), the modified (antibody-coated) valve immobilized significantly more rat BMSC (p < 0.05). Thus, the avidin-biotin system can be used to attach anti-CD90 antibody to these valves, and the bound antibody can immobilize rat BMSC in a flow chamber, suggesting that antibody-modified scaffolds might be used to fabricate shear stress-resistant, tissue-engineered heart valves.