In vivo tissue engineering of a trilayered leaflet-shaped tissue construct

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Cardiovascular Research

Background:

• Native heart valve leaflets possess a complex, oriented trilayered structure crucial for function.
• Current tissue engineering approaches often struggle to replicate this intricate native architecture.
• Developing biomimetic scaffolds is essential for successful heart valve tissue regeneration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a leaflet-shaped, trilayered tissue construct that accurately mimics native heart valve morphology.
• To investigate the potential of electrospun scaffolds in guiding tissue formation *in vivo*.
• To evaluate the structural and compositional characteristics of engineered heart valve constructs.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of leaflet-shaped microfibrous scaffolds with distinct circumferential, random, and radial fiber orientations.
• Utilizing *in vivo* tissue engineering over 3 months with the developed scaffolds.
• Analysis of the resulting tissue constructs for structural mimicry, cellular orientation, and extracellular matrix protein presence.

Main Results:

• Successfully developed leaflet-shaped scaffolds with three distinct, oriented layers.
• Engineered tissue constructs exhibited a trilayered structure mirroring native heart valve leaflet orientations after *in vivo* implantation.
• Constructs showed the presence of key native leaflet components including collagen, glycosaminoglycans, and elastin.

Conclusions:

• Trilayered, oriented fibrous scaffolds effectively guide cell infiltration and extracellular matrix deposition.
• The developed scaffolds successfully recapitulate the native trilayered architecture and composition of heart valve leaflets.
• This approach holds promise for generating functional, biomimetic heart valve tissues.