Online-Marker der Gewebsentwicklung im kardiovaskulären Tissue Engineering : Evaluierung von Tropoelastin als Online-Marker der Extrazellularmatrix-Synthese im kardiovaskulären Tissue Engineering

In the field of tissue engineering, there is an increasing demand for non-destructive methods to quantify the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) components such as collagens, elastin or sulphated glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs) in vitro as a quality control before clinical use. This thesis has investigated a new, non-invasive method for monitoring the synthesis of elastin, one of the most important structural components of ECM in cardiovascular tissue engineering. It was shown that the measurement of tropoelastin as marker of elastin synthesis correlated with the amount of elastin retained in fibrin gels with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.99. Even though this experiment does not include the whole complexity of elastin synthesis, the results found here are encouraging for further studies in this field. In a next step dynamic cultivation conditions and more complex tissue constructs should be investigated. An important question left is whether tropoelastin can be detected in commonly used amounts of bioreactor mediums in tissue engineered heart valves and/or vascular grafts. It is also of particular interest whether mechanical stimulation during dynamic cultivation leads to a significant increase of elastin synthesis in comparison to statically cultivated fibrin gels. In conclusion, a comprehensive evaluation of ECM synthesis is not possible only by assessing the synthesis of tropoelastin: as ECM components interact concerning synthesis and tissue development, the synthesis of sulphated glycosaminoglycans and collagens is also of fundamental interest