Construction of Tissue-Engineered Venous Valves in Vitro Using TwoTypes of Progenitor Cells and Decellularized Scaffolds Category: OriginalArticle

Objective: To construct tissue-engineered (TE) venous valves in vitro using two types of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells and decellularized scaffold. Methods: Bone marrow-derived multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPC) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) from canines were labeled by Hoechst or PKH26, respectively. And they were both implanted into an allograft acellular vein containing a valve to construct a tissue-engineered venous valve in vitro by culturing in the medium. Growth and migration of MAPC and EPC in the scaffold and inner surface were observed via cryosectioning. The cells distribution, differentiation and endothelium in the scaffold material were assessed by HE staining and immunohistochemical staining. Result: MAPC grew, migrated, and differentiated into smooth muscle-like cells in the scaffold material. EPC grew, migrated, and differentiated into the endothelial cells; and they completely endothelialized the inner surface of the vascular and both sides of the venous valves. Conclusion: We successfully constructed tissue-engineered vein valves using two types of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells and decellularized