Attachment of human endothelial cells to polyester vascular grafts: pre-coating with adhesive protein assemblies and resistance to short-term shear stress.

Cardiovascular prosthetic bypass grafts do not endothelialize spontaneously in humans, and so they pose a thrombotic risk. Seeding with cells improves their performance, particularly in small-caliber applications. Knitted tubular polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) vascular prostheses (6 mm) with commercial type I collagen (PET/Co) were modified in the lumen by the adsorption of laminin (LM), by coating with a fibrin network (Fb) or a combination of Fb and fibronectin (Fb/FN).

Capability of human umbilical cord blood progenitor-derived endothelial cells to form an efficient lining on a polyester vascular graft in vitro.

One of the goals of vascular tissue engineering is to create functional conduits for small-diameter bypass grafting. The present biocompatibility study was undertaken to check the ability of cord blood progenitor-derived endothelial cells (PDECs) to take the place of endothelial cells in vascular tissue engineering. After isolation, culture and characterization of endothelial progenitor cells, the following parameters were explored, with a commercial knitted polyester prosthesis (Polymaille C, Laboratoires Pérouse, France) impregnated with collagen: cell adhesion and proliferation, colonization, cell retention on exposure to flow, and the ability of PDECs to be regulated by arterial shear stress via mRNA levels.

Signal transduction and procoagulant state of human cord blood--progenitor-derived endothelial cells after interleukin-1alpha stimulation.

Isolation of endothelial progenitors from human umbilical cord blood generated great hope in vascular tissue engineering. However, before clinical use, progenitor derived endothelial cells (PDECs) have to be compared with mature endothelial cells (ECs). The aim of this study was to explore the behavior of PDECs exposed to a proinflammatory cytokine (interleukin-1alpha; IL-1alpha) according to the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB signal transduction pathways as well as procoagulant activity (PCA).

Mechanical loading modulates the differentiation state of vascular smooth muscle cells.

The cause underlying the onset of stenosis after vascular reconstruction is not well understood. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of mechanical unloading on the differentiation state of human vascular smooth muscle cells (hVSMCs) using a tissue-engineered vascular media (TEVM). hVSMCs cultured in a mechanically loaded three-dimensional environment, known as a living tissue sheet, had a higher differentiated state than cells grown on plastic.

Adventitia contribution in vascular tone: insights from adventitia-derived cells in a tissue-engineered human blood vessel.

Whether the adventitia component of blood vessels directly participates in the regulation of vascular tone remains to be demonstrated. We have recently developed a human tissue-engineered blood vessel comprising the three tunicae of a native blood vessel using the self-assembly approach. To investigate the role of the adventitia in the modulation of vascular tone, this tissue-engineering method was used to produce three vascular constructs from cells explanted and proliferated from donor vessel tunicae 1) an adventitia + a media, or only 2) an adventitia, or 3) a media.