Decellularized Dermis Extracellular Matrix Alloderm as a Scaffold for Biological Engineered Blood Vessels

Abstract

The ideal engineered vascular graft would utilize human-derived materials to minimize foreign body response and tissue rejection. Current biological engineered blood vessels (BEBVs) inherently lack the structure required for implantation. Current methods of mechanical conditioning to encourage extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition requires weeks to months, impeding translation. We hypothesized that an ECM scaffold would provide the structure needed. Skin dermis ECM is commonly used in reconstructive surgeries, is commercially available and is FDA-approved. We evaluated the commercially available decellularized skin dermis ECM called Alloderm for its efficacy in providing structure to biological engineered blood vessels. Alloderm was seeded with fibroblast cells typically found in the adventitia during integration into our lab’s unique protocol for generating BEBVs. To assess structure, tissue mechanics were analyzed. Standard BEBVs without Alloderm exhibited a tensile strength of 67.9 ± 9.78 kPa, whereas Alloderm integrated BEBVs showed a significant increase in strength to 1500 ± 334 kPa. In comparison, native vessel strength is 1430 ± 604 kPa. Burst pressure reached 51.3 ± 2.19 mmHg. Total collagen and fiber maturity were significantly increased due to the presence of the scaffolding material. These results demonstrate the success of Alloderm to provide structure to BEBVs in an effective way.