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In vivo guided vascular regeneration with a non‐porous elastin‐like polypeptide hydrogel tubular scaffold
Author(s) -
Mahara Atsushi,
Kiick Kristi L.,
Yamaoka Tetsuji
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.36018
Subject(s) - scaffold , elastin , materials science , regeneration (biology) , biomedical engineering , connective tissue , in vivo , nanofiber , tissue engineering , biophysics , blood vessel , microbiology and biotechnology , nanotechnology , biology , medicine , genetics , endocrinology
Herein, we demonstrate a new approach for small‐caliber vascular reconstruction using a non‐porous elastin‐like polypeptide hydrogel tubular scaffold, based on the concept of guided vascular regeneration (GVR). The scaffolds are composed of elastin‐like polypeptide, (Val‐Pro‐Gly‐Ile‐Gly) n , for compliance matching and antithrombogenicity and an Arg‐Gly‐Asp (RGD) motif for connective tissue regeneration. When the polypeptide was mixed with an aqueous solution of β‐[Tris(hydroxymethyl)phosphino]propionic acid at 37°C, the polypeptide hydrogel was rapidly formed. The elastic modulus of the hydrogel was 4.4 kPa. The hydrogel tubular scaffold was formed in a mold and reinforced with poly(lactic acid) nanofibers. When tubular scaffolds with an inner diameter of 1 mm and length of 5 mm were implanted into rat abdominal aortae, connective tissue grew along the scaffold luminal surface from the flanking native tissues, resulting in new blood vessel tissue with a thickness of 200 μm in 1 month. In contrast, rats implanted with control scaffolds without the RGD motif died. These results indicate that the non‐porous hydrogel tubular scaffold containing the RGD motif effectively induced rapid tissue regeneration and that GVR is a promising strategy for the regeneration of small‐diameter blood vessels. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 1746–1755, 2017.