The ideal small arterial substitute: Role of cell seeding and tissue engineering

Clin Hemorheol Microcirc. 2007;37(1-2):89-98.

Abstract

Although autogenous vessels are useful in surgery, often patients cannot furnish suitable vessels. If there are not available, two possible alternatives for vessel replacements are to use vascular synthetic prostheses such as Dacron((R)) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or cryopreserved allografts. However, their success has been limited to replace small-diameter (<6 mm) arterial vessel because of their high thrombogenicity and compliance mismatch. On account of a clear clinical need for a functional arterial substitute, tissue engineering techniques have been developed. This review encompasses the use of mature endothelial, endothelial progenitor and bone marrow cells combined with natural or synthetic scaffolds whose surface has been modified with multiple origin matrices.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Blood Vessel Prosthesis*
  • Bone Marrow Cells / cytology
  • Cell Culture Techniques
  • Endothelial Cells / cytology
  • Humans
  • Polymers / therapeutic use
  • Stem Cells / cytology
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*
  • Transplantation, Autologous

Substances

  • Polymers