The Role of Smooth Muscle Cells in Vessel Wall Pathophysiology and Reconstruction Using Bioactive Synthetic Polymers

Abstract

This review summarizes recent trends in the construction of bioartificial vascular replacements, i.e. hybrid grafts containing synthetic polymeric scaffolds and cells. In these advanced replacements, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) should be considered as a physiological component, although it is known that activation of the migration and proliferation of VSMC plays an important role in the onset and development of vascular diseases, and also in restenosis of currently used vascular grafts. Therefore, in novel bioartificial vascular grafts, VSMCs should be kept in quiescent mature contractile phenotype. This can be achieved by (1) appropriate physical and chemical properties of the material, such as its chemical composition, polarity, wettability, surface roughness and topography, electrical charge and conductivity, functionalization with biomolecules and mechanical properties, (2) appropriate cell culture conditions, such as composition of cell culture media and dynamic load, namely cyclic strain, and (3) the presence of a confluent, mature, semipermeable, non-thrombogenic and non-immunogenic endothelial cell (EC) barrier, covering the luminal surface of the graft and separating the VSMCs from the blood. Both VSMCs and ECs can also be differentiated from stem and progenitor cells of various sources. In the case of degradable scaffolds, the material will gradually be removed by the cells and will be replaced by their own new extracellular matrix. Thus, the material component in advanced blood vessel substitutes acts as a temporary scaffold that promotes regeneration of the damaged vascular tissue.

Responses of endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and platelets dependent on the surface topography of polytetrafluoroethylene

“…1,5,6 The polymer PTFE is one of the most commonly used biomaterials for making vascular grafts and prosthesis due to its suitable mechanical properties and excellent biostability. 7 However, PTFE is a poor substrate for cell adhesion and growth due to its strong hydrophobicity. [7][8][9][10][11] Hence, various surface modification techniques have been previously developed to modify the PTFE surfaces to improve the cellular adhesion and growth.…”

“…[7][8][9][10][11] Hence, various surface modification techniques have been previously developed to modify the PTFE surfaces to improve the cellular adhesion and growth. The techniques include (a) UV light irradiation, plasma irradiation, and ion irradiation treatments to incorporate amine functionality and several other oxygen containing functionalities on the PTFE surface 7,9,11,12 ; (b) bioactive coatings using proteins (fibronectin), peptides (RGD), and antibodies (CD34, CD133) 8,10,13 ; (c) biological polymer coatings using heparin. 14 Although these techniques provided promising results in improving cell adhesion and growth, all of the above-mentioned techniques involved chemical modification of PTFE surface.…”

Bioengineering of Vascular Conduits

“…The extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen, elastin, fibronectin, vitronectin, and laminins which mediate cell-material adhesion have been thoroughly assessed in an earlier review [37].Materials for vascular replacements should be biomimetic in such a way that they should be resistant not only to thrombosis, but also to inflammation, and neointimal proliferation, and for all intents and purposes, they should resemble the native vessels [37]. For these reasons, it is necessary to investigate the physical, chemical, and biological properties and modifications of materials to further understand the molecular mechanism of the cell material interaction [37].…”

“…The polymer surfaces which have been formerly investigated for endothelial attachment, proliferation, and function had been listed in an earlier review [39]. On the other hand, the synthetic polymers for reconstructing blood vessels for clinical practice which are based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) had been previously reviewed [37].…”

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (VSMCs) in Blood Vessel Tissue Engineering: The Use of Differentiated Cells or Stem Cells as VSMC Precursors

“…As concerns the chemical composition of the scaffolds, attempts are being made to fabricate these scaffolds from degradable materials, such as synthetic polymers (e.g., polylactides, polyglycolides, polycaprolactone and their copolymers), natural polymers (collagen, elastin, fibronectin, laminin, fibrin) and combinations of these materials [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Degradable scaffolds are used for vascular tissue engineering, because the scaffolds will gradually be removed and replaced by a newly regenerated vascular tissue.…”