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Developing a completely biological tissue‐engineered blood vessel for clinical use
Author(s) -
L'Heureux Nicolas
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.198.1
Subject(s) - tissue engineering , extracellular matrix , biomedical engineering , biocompatible material , biomaterial , in vivo , blood vessel , medicine , biology , microbiology and biotechnology
In the 1990's, biomaterials were considered an integral part of the new field of tissue engineering, particularly in projects where mechanical functions were important. However, these foreign scaffolds often significantly limited in vivo performance because they interfered with physiological functions (immune, remodeling, mechanical). Our goal was to grow a completely biological human blood vessel in the hope that it could be positively remodeled by the recipient's body. Using normal adult skin fibroblasts, we developed an approach termed Tissue Engineering by Self‐Assembly (TESA) in which sheets of cell‐synthesized extracellular matrix and living cells are assembled into strong complex tissues. Multilamellar tubes where developed as autologous vascular grafts for hemodialysis access. These vessels displayed promising mechanical properties including burst pressures that surpassed those of human arteries. Phase I/II clinical trials have shown promising safety and efficacy results even in a high‐risk patient population. Early clinical results with a second‐generation graft (allogeneic, non‐living) support the feasibility of this more widely available design. A third generation graft, based on cell‐synthesized threads and textile technologies, can be produced three times fasters. This truly biocompatible “biomaterial” can mimic the conjunctive component of many tissues and organs.