ABSTRACT
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Over 1 billion people suffer from chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, rhinitis and rhinosinusitis. They cause an enormous burden and are considered as major non-communicable diseases. Many patients are still uncontrolled and the cost of inaction is unacceptable. A meeting was held in Vilnius, Lithuania (March 23, 2018) under the patronage of the Ministry of Health and several scientific societies to propose multisectoral care pathways embedding guided self-management, mHealth and air pollution in selected chronic respiratory diseases (rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, asthma and COPD). The meeting resulted in the Vilnius Declaration that was developed by the participants of the EU Summit on chronic respiratory diseases under the leadership of Euforea. CONCLUSION: The Vilnius Declaration represents an important step for the fight against air pollution in chronic respiratory diseases globally and has a clear strategic relevance with regard to the EU Health Strategy as it will bring added value to the existing public health knowledge.
ABSTRACT
Decellularized scaffolds represent a promising alternative for mitral valve (MV) replacement. This work developed and characterized a protocol for the decellularization of whole MVs. Porcine MVs were decellularized with 0.5% (w/v) SDS and 0.5% (w/v) SD and sterilized with 0.1% (v/v) PAA. Decellularized samples were seeded with human foreskin fibroblasts and human adipose-derived stem cells to investigate cellular repopulation and infiltration, and with human colony-forming endothelial cells to investigate collagen IV formation. Histology revealed an acellular scaffold with a generally conserved histoarchitecture, but collagen IV loss. Following decellularization, no significant changes were observed in the hydroxyproline content, but there was a significant reduction in the glycosaminoglycan content. SEM/TEM analysis confirmed cellular removal and loss of some extracellular matrix components. Collagen and elastin were generally preserved. The endothelial cells produced newly formed collagen IV on the non-cytotoxic scaffold. The protocol produced acellular scaffolds with generally preserved histoarchitecture, biochemistry, and biomechanics.
Subject(s)
Bioprosthesis , Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation/instrumentation , Heart Valve Prosthesis , Mitral Valve , Tissue Engineering/methods , Tissue Scaffolds , Animals , Biomechanical Phenomena , Cell Proliferation , Cells, Cultured , Coculture Techniques , Collagen Type IV/metabolism , DNA Replication , Elastin/metabolism , Fibroblasts/metabolism , Glycosaminoglycans/metabolism , Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells/metabolism , Humans , Hydroxyproline/metabolism , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , Microscopy, Electron, Transmission , Mitral Valve/immunology , Mitral Valve/metabolism , Mitral Valve/transplantation , Mitral Valve/ultrastructure , Stem Cells/metabolism , Sus scrofa , Time FactorsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Commonly used heart valve prostheses have specific drawbacks and limitations. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: Optimization of conventional methods and techniques for heart valve replacement by application of tissue engineering principles. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Recent studies have impressively shown that allogeneic decellularized matrices have the potential to overcome limitations of conventional prostheses and to provide all the characteristics of an ideal graft for heart valve replacement.
Subject(s)
Heart Valve Diseases/surgery , Heart Valves/surgery , Tissue Engineering/methods , Acellular Dermis , Heart Valve Prosthesis , Humans , Prosthesis FailureABSTRACT
Tissue engineering of bioartificial myocardial tissue will become an increasingly important therapeutic approach in the near future but supply of oxygen and nutrients as well as evacuation of metabolic products represent a critical obstacle in tissues with a thickness of 100 µm and above. Viability of seeded cells in the myocardial patch is positively correlated with its function and thus early sufficient vascularization is mandatory. The choice of substrate, structure of matrices, specific cellular seeding and addition of growth factors contribute to this necessary vascularization process.This review article gives an overview of the current state of research on recent myocardial tissue engineering utilizing natural and solid substrates (urinary bladder, gall bladder, small intestine, stomach, peritoneum, omentum, uterus, skeletal muscle, diaphragm and cardiac muscle) with a special focus on the results of vascularization of bioartificial tissue for each approach.
