Engineering Cardiovascular Implant Surfaces to Create a Vascular Endothelial Growth Microenvironment
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Published on: September 9, 2016
Jingan Li1,2, Kun Zhang2,3, Nan Huang2
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, 100 Science Road, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China.
Insights
Cardiovascular implants face challenges like thrombosis and hyperplasia. This review focuses on improving endothelialization by mimicking natural factors and modifying biomaterial surfaces for better vascular implants.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Cardiovascular Research
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading global cause of death, with atherosclerosis and thrombosis posing significant challenges.
- Cardiovascular implants are crucial for treating these conditions but often suffer from thrombosis and hyperplasia.
- Achieving functional endothelialization is key to improving implant longevity and patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review clinical requirements for cardiovascular implants, focusing on anti-hyperplasia, anti-thrombosis, and pro-endothelialization.
- To explore natural factors influencing endothelialization in situ, including smooth muscle cells (SMCs), blood flow shear stress (BFSS), and extracellular matrix (ECM).
- To introduce surface modification strategies for cardiovascular biomaterials to create a conducive microenvironment for endothelial cell growth.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of natural factors affecting endothelialization: SMCs environment, BFSS, and ECM.
- Review of current surface modification techniques for cardiovascular biomaterials.
- Focus on strategies like surface micro-patterning to simulate BFSS, rational ECM construction, and maintaining SMC phenotype.
Main Results:
- Identified key natural factors (SMCs, BFSS, ECM) crucial for functional endothelialization.
- Highlighted surface modification strategies that mimic these natural factors.
- Demonstrated the potential of engineered microenvironments for promoting endothelial cell growth on implants.
Conclusions:
- Surface modification of cardiovascular biomaterials is essential for creating pro-endothelialization microenvironments.
- Mimicking natural cues like BFSS and ECM, and maintaining SMC phenotype, are promising strategies.
- Future cardiovascular implant design should focus on in situ construction of endothelial cell growth microenvironments for next-generation devices.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is generally accepted as the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and an increasing number of patients suffer from atherosclerosis and thrombosis annually. To treat these disorders and prolong the sufferers' life, several cardiovascular implants have been developed and applied clinically. Nevertheless, thrombosis and hyperplasia at the site of cardiovascular implants are recognized as long-term problems in the practice of interventional cardiology. Here, we start this review from the clinical requirement of the implants, such as anti-hyperplasia, anti-thrombosis, and pro-endothelialization, wherein particularly focus on the natural factors which influence functional endothelialization in situ, including the healthy smooth muscle cells (SMCs) environment, blood flow shear stress (BFSS), and the extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment. Then, the currently available strategies on surface modification of cardiovascular biomaterials to create vascular endothelial growth microenvironment are introduced as the main topic, e.g., BFSS effect simulation by surface micro-patterning, ECM rational construction and SMCs phenotype maintain. Finally, the prospects for extending use of the in situ construction of endothelial cells growth microenvironment are discussed and summarized in designing the next generation of vascular implants.
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