<< Back to the abstract archive
Assessment of neoartery regeneration in cell-free, fast-degrading vascular grafts using a rat carotid artery interposition model
Liwei Dong 1, Keewon Lee 2, Muhammad Umer Nisar 3, Nadim Farhat 2,3,, Chiaki Komatsu 1 , Kang Kim 2,3,5 , Mario G. Solari 1, Vijay Gorantla 1, Yadong Wang 2,4,5
University of Pittsburgh
2016-01-30
Presenter: Liwei Dong
Affidavit:
Vijay Gorantla
Director Name: Vijay Gorantla
Author Category: Fellow Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Basic Science Research
Abstract Category: General Reconstruction
Autologous vascular grafts are the gold standard for vascular grafts, but donor site morbidity and additional surgery limit its clinical utility. We have developed a cell-free, rapidly biodegradable vascular graft with an open cell porous structure, which has demonstrated accelerated cell infiltration and in-host remodeling when used in a rat abdominal aorta model. Compared to the abdominal aorta, the common carotid artery is smaller in inner diameter and more muscular, mimicking a small elastic artery in the human. So we assessed the neoartery regeneration of our grafts on carotid artery interposition model. We fabricated bi-layered composite vascular grafts: with a fast-degrading elastomer, poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) core and an electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) outer sheath. We implanted these vascular grafts into the rat common carotid artery by end-to-end anastomosis (n = 4 per time point) with 10-0 nylon suture with standard microsurgical techniques that addressed the native artery � vascular graft size differential. We checked graft patency at 0, 5, 10, 30 min with flow Doppler after anastomosis, to confirm absence of thrombosis and with ultrasound scanning at 2, 4, 12-week post-implantation, to monitor other complications including stenosis or post-stenotic dilation. We explanted grafts at 12-week post-implantation and assessed in-host remodeling using histology and immunofluorescence staining. Ultrasound monitoring confirmed the patency of the grafts. Histology and immunofluorescence staining demonstrated endothelial monolayer in lumen and organized smooth muscle cells in medial layer. Our results confirmed successful neoartery regeneration in the cell-free, bi-layered, fast-degrading vascular grafts following rat carotid artery interposition.
