Tissue Engineering of Vascular Graft Using Autogenous Bone Marrow Cell and Allogenous Acellular Vessel

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to develop a tissue-engineered vascular graft using autologous bone marrow-derived cells (BMCs) and allogenous acellular vascular graft. METHOD: We developed a tissue- engineered vascular patch using autologous BMCs and allogenous acellularized tissue patches. The patches were implanted into the inferior vena cava of a canine in vivo model. Three weeks after implantation, the retrieved patches were investigated by histological and immunohistochemical analyses. RESULT: Cultured BMCs differentiated into endothelium-like and smooth muscle-like cells. The patch graft maintained patent for 3 weeks without any signs of thrombus formation. Histological, immunohistochemical, and scanning electron microscopic analyses of the retrieved patches revealed that new vascular tissues were successfully reconstructed within the patch matrices. CONCLUSION: The tissue-engineered vascular patch using autogenous BMCs and allogenous acellularized matrix maintained patent for 3 weeks and showed vascular tissues generation similar to native blood vessel. The findings of no thrombus and no aneurysmal formation in patch indicated good antithrombogenic property and mechanical property. This study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing BMCs as an alternative cell source to reconstruct vascular tissues.