Scaffolds and Cell-Based Tissue Engineering for Blood Vessel Therapy

Abstract

The increasing morbidity of cardiovascular diseases in modern society has made it crucial to develop a small-caliber blood vessel. In the absence of appropriate autologous vascular grafts, an alternative prosthesis must be constructed for cardiovascular disease patients. The aim of this article is to describe the advances in making cell-seeded cardiovascular prostheses. It also discusses the combinations of types of scaffolds and cells, especially autologous stem cells, which are suitable for application in tissue-engineered vessels with the favorable properties of mechanical strength, antithrombogenicity, biocompliance, anti-inflammation, fatigue resistance and long-term durability. This article highlights the advancements in cellular tissue-engineered vessels in recent years.

iPSCs-based generation of vascular cells: reprogramming approaches and applications

“…Although non-immunogenic autologous endothelial cells as well as SMC isolated from patients themselves would be the first choice for vessel and/or vascularized tissue engineering, the numbers of cells obtained from small vessel biopsies remain limited and, moreover, these terminally differentiated cells bear a limited proliferation potential. Even the cells isolated from umbilical veins have limited proliferation potential [ 102 , 174 ]. Thus, iPSC-derived vascular cells are an attractive source of cells that have been explored for the production of blood vessel replacements [ 175 ].…”

Selection of different endothelialization modes and different seed cells for tissue-engineered vascular graft

“…Non-degradable synthetic materials such as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), polyester (PET), and polyurethane (PU) have been used as substitutes for large blood vessels for decades due to their good mechanical properties, durability and convenient production [ 12 ]. In the treatment of superficial femoral artery occlusion diseases and renal diseases requiring hemodialysis, ePTFE stent grafts show satisfactory safety and short-term patency [ 13 ].…”

“… Scaffold type Materials Advantage Disadvantage References Non-degradable ePTFE, PET, PU, etc. *Have successfully been employed for decades to bypass and reconstruct medium to large diameter vessels *Good mechanical properties, durability, and convenient production *Short of cellular communication signals and integrin-binding sites *Mechanical properties incompatible with soft tissue regeneration (may be in composite scaffolds) [ 7 , 12 , 15 , 51 ] Biodegradable PGA, PCL, etc. *Can be tailored with specific physical properties to suit particular applications *Convenient production *Appropriate mechanical properties *Toxic degradation products and loss of mechanical properties during degradation *Can't accurately mimic the in vivo microenvironment of cells *Poor regeneration of vascular wall and partial calcification [ 19 , 20 , [52] , [53] , [54] ] Natural polymer scaffold Collagen, gelatin, chitosan, etc.…”

Biodegradable small-diameter vascular graft: types of modification with bioactive molecules and RGD peptides

“…В результате активируется множество сигнальных молекулярных каскадов, приводящих к структурным и физиологическим изменениям клетки, ответственных за поддержание направленной адгезии, пролиферации, опосредованной регуляции клеточного цикла [80]. В процессе эндотелизации внутренней поверхности волокнистого матрикса сосудозамещающего изделия принимают участие как клетки-предшественники, так и зрелые эндотелиальные клетки, циркулирующие в кровотоке и мигрирующие с концов анастомозов с нативным сосудом [81][82][83]. ЭК экспрессируют 13 видов интегринов, из которых в процессе адгезии с последующей эндотелизацией наиболее активно участвуют β1-субсемейство, αvβ3 и αvβ5 [84].…”