Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026
Implantation of Inferior Vena Cava Interposition Graft in Mouse Model
Published on: June 4, 2014
"In vivo tissue-engineered" valved conduit with designed molds and laser processed scaffold
Kyoko Hayashida1, Keiichi Kanda, Tomonori Oie
1Department of Bioengineering, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Osaka, Japan.
Background:
"In body tissue architecture" technology is a practical concept of regenerative medicine that uses the living recipient body's reaction to a foreign object as a reactor for autologous tissue organization. A novel autologous valved conduit was produced by creating a specially designed conduit-mold composite and elastomeric scaffold for this unique in vivo tissue engineering.
Methods:
Convex and concave plastic molds assembled with a small aperture of 500-800 microm were inserted into a microporous elastomeric conduit scaffold. The assembly was placed in a subcutaneous pocket of Japanese white rabbits for 1 month. The molds were pulled out from the edge of the harvested implant to obtain the valved conduit.
Results:
Homogenous and well-balanced trileaflet of membranous tissue was developed in the optimized aperture of molds. The valve leaflet closed and opened rapidly in synchronization with the backward and forward flow of the pulsatile flow circuit in vitro.
Conclusions:
A tissue-engineered conduit incorporated with a functional autologous trileaflet valve was developed in an in vivo reactor by optimizing the microstructures of conduit scaffolds and newly designing the composite molds. The method holds promise for a safe, biocompatible, and economical heart valve prosthesis.
