OBJECTIVES: Many patients in need of bypass surgery lack graft material and current synthetic alternatives have poor performance. A 4 mm vascular graft composed of bacterial cellulose (BC) was developed and tested in pilot study in a large animal model. DESIGN: BC is a biopolymer made by the bacteria acetobacter xylinum. BC grafts (n = 16) with 4 cm length and 4 mm internal diameter were implanted bilaterally in the carotid arteries of eight sheep. No long-term antithrombotic therapy was administered. Patency was assessed with ultrasound. Histology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy were performed after explantation. RESULTS: Fifty percent of the grafts occluded within two weeks. One animal died with patent grafts after 14 days. In the three remaining animals 5/6 grafts were patent after nine months. Two animals were followed 13 months after implantation with 3/4 grafts patent at explantation. All patent grafts had confluent endothelial-like cells. CONCLUSIONS: Biosynthetic small calibre vascular grafts made from BC can be patent for up to 13 months in sheep carotid arteries. BC is a potential material for small calibre grafts but patency in animal models needs to be improved before clinical studies can be planned.
OBJECTIVES: Many patients in need of bypass surgery lack graft material and current synthetic alternatives have poor performance. A 4 mm vascular graft composed of bacterial cellulose (BC) was developed and tested in pilot study in a large animal model. DESIGN:BC is a biopolymer made by the bacteria acetobacter xylinum. BC grafts (n = 16) with 4 cm length and 4 mm internal diameter were implanted bilaterally in the carotid arteries of eight sheep. No long-term antithrombotic therapy was administered. Patency was assessed with ultrasound. Histology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy were performed after explantation. RESULTS: Fifty percent of the grafts occluded within two weeks. One animal died with patent grafts after 14 days. In the three remaining animals 5/6 grafts were patent after nine months. Two animals were followed 13 months after implantation with 3/4 grafts patent at explantation. All patent grafts had confluent endothelial-like cells. CONCLUSIONS: Biosynthetic small calibre vascular grafts made from BC can be patent for up to 13 months in sheep carotid arteries. BC is a potential material for small calibre grafts but patency in animal models needs to be improved before clinical studies can be planned.
Authors: Hirotsugu Kurobe; Mark W Maxfield; Shuhei Tara; Kevin A Rocco; Paul S Bagi; Tai Yi; Brooks Udelsman; Zhen W Zhuang; Muriel Cleary; Yasuko Iwakiri; Christopher K Breuer; Toshiharu Shinoka Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-04-01 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Deborah Fusco; Florian Meissner; Bruno K Podesser; Anna Marsano; Martin Grapow; Friedrich Eckstein; Bernhard Winkler Journal: Front Cardiovasc Med Date: 2022-09-26
Authors: Randall J Smith; Bita Nasiri; Julien Kann; Donald Yergeau; Jonathan E Bard; Daniel D Swartz; Stelios T Andreadis Journal: Nat Commun Date: 2020-04-01 Impact factor: 14.919