Vessel Bioengineering - Development of Small-Diameter Arterial Grafts

The development of vascular bioengineering has led to a variety of novel treatment strategies for patients with cardiovascular disease. Notably, combining biodegradable scaffolds with autologous cell seeding to create tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVG) allows for in situ formation of organized neovascular tissue and we have demonstrated the clinical viability of this technique in patients with congenital heart defects. The role of the scaffold is to provide a temporary 3-dimensional structure for cells, but applying TEVG strategy to the arterial system requires scaffolds that can also endure arterial pressure. Both biodegradable synthetic polymers and extracellular matrix-based natural materials can be used to generate arterial scaffolds that satisfy these requirements. Furthermore, the role of specific cell types in tissue remodeling is crucial and as a result many different cell sources, from matured somatic cells to stem cells, are now used in a variety of arterial TEVG techniques. However, despite great progress in the field over the past decade, clinical effectiveness of small-diameter arterial TEVG (<6 mm) has remained elusive. To achieve successful translation of this complex multidisciplinary technology to the clinic, active participation of biologists, engineers, and clinicians is required.