Communications Medicine (Jan 2022)
Tissue engineered vascular grafts transform into autologous neovessels capable of native function and growth
- Kevin M. Blum,
- Jacob C. Zbinden,
- Abhay B. Ramachandra,
- Stephanie E. Lindsey,
- Jason M. Szafron,
- James W. Reinhardt,
- Megan Heitkemper,
- Cameron A. Best,
- Gabriel J. M. Mirhaidari,
- Yu-Chun Chang,
- Anudari Ulziibayar,
- John Kelly,
- Kejal V. Shah,
- Joseph D. Drews,
- Jason Zakko,
- Shinka Miyamoto,
- Yuichi Matsuzaki,
- Ryuma Iwaki,
- Hira Ahmad,
- Robbie Daulton,
- Drew Musgrave,
- Matthew G. Wiet,
- Eric Heuer,
- Emily Lawson,
- Erica Schwarz,
- Michael R. McDermott,
- Rajesh Krishnamurthy,
- Ramkumar Krishnamurthy,
- Kan Hor,
- Aimee K. Armstrong,
- Brian A. Boe,
- Darren P. Berman,
- Aaron J. Trask,
- Jay D. Humphrey,
- Alison L. Marsden,
- Toshiharu Shinoka,
- Christopher K. Breuer
Affiliations
- Kevin M. Blum
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Jacob C. Zbinden
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Abhay B. Ramachandra
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University
- Stephanie E. Lindsey
- Department of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Stanford University
- Jason M. Szafron
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University
- James W. Reinhardt
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Megan Heitkemper
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Cameron A. Best
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Gabriel J. M. Mirhaidari
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Yu-Chun Chang
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Anudari Ulziibayar
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- John Kelly
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Kejal V. Shah
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Joseph D. Drews
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Jason Zakko
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Shinka Miyamoto
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Yuichi Matsuzaki
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Ryuma Iwaki
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Hira Ahmad
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Robbie Daulton
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Drew Musgrave
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Matthew G. Wiet
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Eric Heuer
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Emily Lawson
- The Ohio State University College of Medicine
- Erica Schwarz
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University
- Michael R. McDermott
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Rajesh Krishnamurthy
- Department of Radiology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Ramkumar Krishnamurthy
- Department of Radiology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Kan Hor
- The Heart Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Aimee K. Armstrong
- The Heart Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Brian A. Boe
- The Heart Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Darren P. Berman
- The Heart Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Aaron J. Trask
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Jay D. Humphrey
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University
- Alison L. Marsden
- Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME), Stanford University
- Toshiharu Shinoka
- The Heart Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Christopher K. Breuer
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-021-00063-7
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 2,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 21
Abstract
Plain language summary Surgery to correct defects in the heart that are present at birth sometimes requires the use of artificial blood vessels called vascular grafts. Tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) are scaffolds seeded with cells that can develop into functional blood vessels over time. We conducted a series of laboratory and computer-based experiments to investigate how TEVGs develop into functional blood vessels, and demonstrated two phases of changes to the TEVG after implantation: an early phase driven by inflammation, and a later phase driven by the mechanical properties of the tissue. At later time points, the resulting blood vessels demonstrated the ability to grow and respond to blood flow in similar ways to the body’s own blood vessels. These results provide insight into the processes by which TEVGs become functional blood vessels, with implications for future clinical use of this technology.
