Evaluation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells growth onto heparin-modified electrospun vascular grafts

CARACCIOLO, PABLO C.; DIAZ-RODRIGUEZ, PATRICIA; ARDAO, INÉS; MOREIRA, DAVID; MONTINI-BALLARIN, FLORENCIA; ABRAHAM, GUSTAVO A.; CONCHEIRO, ANGEL; ALVAREZ-LORENZO, CARMEN

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2021 vol. 179 p. 567 - 575

0141-8130

One of the main challenges of cardiovascular tissue engineering is the development ofbioresorbable and compliant small-diameter vascular grafts (SDVG) for patients whereautologous grafts are not an option. In this work, electrospun bilayered bioresorbable SDVGbased on blends of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and segmented polyurethane (PHD) wereprepared and evaluated. The inner layer of these SDVG was surface-modified with heparin,following a methodology involving PHD urethane functional groups. Heparin was selected asanticoagulant agent, and also due to its ability to promote human umbilical vein endothelialcells (HUVECs) growth and to inhibit smooth muscle cells over-proliferation, main cause ofneointimal hyperplasia and restenosis. Immobilized heparin was quantified and changes inSDVG microstructure were investigated through SEM. Tensile properties of the heparinfunctionalizedSDVG resembled those of saphenous vein. Vascular grafts were seeded withHUVECs and cultured on a flow-perfusion bioreactor to analyze the effect of heparin on graftendothelization under simulated physiological-like conditions. The analysis of endothelial cellsattachment and gene expression (Real-Time PCR) pointed out that the surface functionalizationwith heparin successfully promoted a stable and functional endothelial cell layer.