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Objective: The saphenous vein (SV) is an effective graft used in coronary artery bypass grafting, although, its patency can be affected by the development of atherosclerosis. We have developed an experimental study demonstrating the development of apoptosis in SV grafts cultivated under arterial hemodynamic conditions (AHC). The interleukin-1â expression was also elevated in these veins slices. The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of interleukin-1â in the precocious proliferation of the cultures of primary smooth muscle cells (PSMC).Methods: PSMC of 6 different human SVs were cultivated in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium associated with bovine fetal serum. The control group was not treated with Interleukin-1â but treated groups were. Cellular proliferation (CP) was evaluated by measuring triple thymidine (3H), incorporated into the proliferated cells.Results: The treatment with Interleukin-1â decreases cellular proliferation. The control group presented 100 ± 4.5% of CP. In the treated groups the quantity of Interleukin-1 administered and the respective levels of CP observed were: 0.1 ng/mL -112 ± 0.7%; 1 ng/mL -83 ± 4.7%; 10 ng/mL -69.1 ± 3.8% and 100 ng/mL -76.3 ± 10.9% (p < 0.01).Conclusion: We can conclude that the administration of increasing quantities of Interleukin-1â inhibits the proliferation of PSMC cultivated from human SVs. This suggests that the precocious process of apoptosis observed in the SV grafts exposed to AHC can be related to the action of this Interleukin. Cardiovasc Surg 2005; 20(2): 111-116

In view of the limitations of the study, the prophylactic tricuspid annuloplasty in heart donor reduced the degree of valvar regurgitation in the medium term after heart transplantation with bicaval anastomosis, in spite of not interfering with the allograft hemodynamic performance in the period under consideration.