Comparison of three myofibroblast cell sources for the tissue engineering of cardiac valves

The objective of this study was to evaluate the capacity of three clinically useful tissue sources: tricuspid valve leaflet (TVL), carotid artery (CA), and jugular vein (JV), to generate myofibroblasts for potential use in a tissue-engineered cardiac valve replacement. Tissue biopsies of clinically appropriate sizes obtained from juvenile sheep were used for this work. Cells obtained from all three tissue sources exhibited a myofibroblast phenotype in vitro, as demonstrated by their immunoreactivity with antibodies directed against vimentin, alpha-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, and chondroitin sulfate. Protein synthesis characteristics were defined for the key extracellular matrix components: collagen, glycosaminoglycans, and elastin. Among the three sources, JV generated the highest numbers of cells, and JV cells produced the largest amount of collagen per cell. These data suggest that venous tissue, with its relative ease of accessibility, may generate myofibroblasts potentially useful for the interstitial cellular component of a tissue-engineered cardiac valve.