The role of stem cells in the cellular accumulation on decellularised human arterial grafts in vivo

Background: Coronary artery disease is a common condition that affects over a million people in the United Kingdom. Treatment options are medical management, surgical or percutaneous revascularisation. The choice between surgical and percutaneous intervention is guided by the severity of the disease, with surgical intervention offering superior outcomes as the severity of disease increases. However, some patients lack suitable conduits for a surgical procedure or develop stenosis within these grafts. The field of stem cell biology is rapidly expanding and together with the concepts of tissue engineering offers the promise of growing autologous grafts in the laboratory. Methods: Human arterial samples were collected and decellularised using an ionic detergent. These vessel scaffolds were then used as grafts in an in vivo mouse model and the cellular accumulation on them was examined both histologically and by cell culture with assessment of their physiological properties. Results: LIMA branches were fully decellularised and successfully implanted into a murine model. Grafts were repopulated by cells expressing stem cell markers (CD3l, CD34) and subsequently expressed markers of mature endothelial cells (v on Willebrand Factor) as well as smooth muscle cell markers (calponin, myosin heavy chain). The migratory capacity of the cultured cells was found to be significantly higher than that of mouse smooth muscle cells (p<O.OO l). The proliferative capacity of these cells was lower than that of native murine smooth muscle cells (p