Above-Knee Femoropopliteal Bypass Grafting Using Endothelial Cell Seeded PTFE Grafts: Five-Year Clinical Experience

Long-term experience in autologous in vitro endothelialization of infrainguinal ePTFE grafts

“…In the second half of the 1980s, sufficient experimental data had been accumulated by a few groups to justify the commencement of three independent clinical pilot studies. [9][10][11] In contrast to the "single staged" seeding trials of previous years, in vitro endothelialization significantly improved clinical patency rates. 9,[11][12][13] Adding weight to these rather small clinical studies was the fact that retrieved samples demonstrated the presence of a confluent endothelium in the midgraft region weeks to years after implantation.…”

“…[6][7][8] Yet, in the absence of precedents, regulatory concerns prevailed and most of the pioneers of the first hour shied away from applying tissue culture techniques. Typically, those few institutions that proceeded with a cell culture-based approach were European, 9,10 partly due to a less stringent regulatory environment, and partly due to health institutions that were more likely to accept the additional costs associated with "in vitro" endothelialization than their American counterparts. In the second half of the 1980s, sufficient experimental data had been accumulated by a few groups to justify the commencement of three independent clinical pilot studies.…”

Polyethyleneterephthalate Provides Superior Retention of Endothelial Cells During Shear Stress Compared to Polytetrafluoroethylene and Pericardium

“…14 Investigations of the effects of endothelial seeding of synthetic grafts on patency in humans have yielded varying results ranging from 38% patency at 30 months to 67% patency at 76 months. 15,16 Moreover, there has been little success with endothelialisation of bovine pericardium, which may be attributed to glutaraldehyde release from the fixed tissue, inhibiting endothelial cell growth. 17 Inactivation of free glutaraldehyde with L-glutamic acid is one method used to overcome this problem as shown by improved endothelial cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo, but with only weak adherence to the pericardium.…”

Integrin-Dependent Interaction of Human Vascular Endothelial Cells on Biomimetic Peptide Surfactant Polymers

“…Furthermore, an ideal substrate should provide surface properties refractive to nonspecific adsorption of plasma proteins (26,32), which is hypothesized to facilitate adhesion and activation of platelets leading to thrombosis (16,26,32,59). These factors are highly relevant when designing adhesive substrata for tissue engineering constructs and vascular prostheses, which suffer from surface-induced thrombosis, neointimal hyperplasia, or anastomotic stenosis (34,67).…”