ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the characteristics and cytocomptibility of porcine aorta fixed with genipin in vitro and to provide the proper biomaterials for fabrication of esophageal prosthesis. Methods The porcine aortas were treated by genipin for 7min to 7days, were then examined with naked-eye and light microscope. Subsequently, the fixation index determination and the biomechanics test were also performed. The cytotoxicity of the genipin-fixed materials was evaluated in vitro by MTT assay using a mouse -derived established cell line of L-929 fibroblasts as test cells. Results The experimental results indicated that the antigenicity of porcine aorta tissues could be diminished by genipin through getting rid of cell in the porcine aorta tissues and reducing the level of free amino groups in the porcine aorta tissues. The structural integrity of porcine aorta tissues can be preserved after treating with genipin. It was also found that the genipin-fixed porcine aorta tissues appeared more toughness and visco-elasticity. The RGR of genipin-fixed porcine aorta tissues was high which presumed a low cytotoxicity of this material. Conclusion The Genipin-fixed porcine aorta should be a promising material for fabricating esophageal prosthesis or fabricating scaffold of tissue-engineered esophagus.
ABSTRACT
Endothelin (ET), recently isolated from culture supernatant of porcine aortic endothelial cells, is a novel potent vasoconstrictive substance. In this paper a highly specific rabbit antisera against endothelin was used to study the localization of ET in the isolated endothelial cells, from human umbilical veins and porcine arota, and that of ET in the cryostat cross sections of porcine aorta by using ABC immunohistochemical technique. The results demonstrate that a varied amounts of specific ET-like immunoreactive substance exist in the endothelial cytoplasm of human umbilical veins and porcine aorta which provides the mor- phological evidence for elucidating the endocrine function of vascular endothelial cells.