Tissue engineering. Part A
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Effective cellularization is a key approach to prevent small-caliber (<4 mm) tissue-engineered vascular graft (TEVG) failure and maintain patency and contractility following implantation. To achieve this goal, however, improved biomimicking designs and/or relatively long production times (typically several months) are required. We previously reported on porcine carotid artery decellularization yielding biomechanically stable and cell supportive small-caliber (3-4 mm diameter, 5 cm long) arterial extracellular matrix (scaECM) vascular grafts. ⋯ Following transplantation, dynamically endothelialized scaECM-TEVGs remained patent for 6 weeks in a pig carotid interposition bypass model. When compared with nonrevitalized control grafts, reendothelialized grafts provided excellent antithrombogenic activity, inhibited intimal hyperplasia formation, and encouraged media wall infiltration and reorganization with recruited host SMCs. We thus demonstrate that readily available decellularized scaECM can be promptly revitalized with autologous cells in a 3-week period before implantation, indicating applicability as a future platform for vascular reconstructive procedures.