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For the first time, the feasibility and long-term functionality of transcatheter-based homologous off-the-shelf tissue engineered heart valves are demonstrated in a relevant pre-clinical model. Such engineered heart valves may represent an interesting alternative to current prostheses because of their rapid cellular repopulation, tissue remodeling, and therewith self-repair capacity. The concept of homologous off-the-shelf tissue engineered heart valves may therefore substantially simplify previous tissue engineering concepts toward clinical translation.

Decellularized xenogenic or allogenic heart valves have been used as starter matrix for tissueengineering of valve replacements with (pre-)clinical promising results. However, xenografts are associated with the risk of immunogenic reactions or disease transmission and availability of homografts is limited. Alternatively, biodegradable synthetic materials have been used to successfully create tissue-engineered heart valves (TEHV 178 words

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