Surface modification by recombinant yersinia enterocolitica min3 improves the binding of endothelial cells on ptfe grafts

摘要

The replacement of blood vessels is one of the most important procedures in cardiovascular surgery. The surgical insertion of arterial implants with a wide lumen is possible with good long term results, but venous and arterial implants with a narrow lumen smaller than 4mm present the current limitations. Due to the low blood flow, thrombocytes tend to attach at the prosthesis and activate the blood coagulation cascade, resulting in the formation of a wall-attached thrombus, and ultimately occluding the blood vessel prosthesis. The lining of Endothelial Cells (EC) to prosthetic PTFE-Grafts has been promoted as a method of improving graft patency (1). Due to the insufficient adherence of EC to PTFE-Grafts it is necessary to improve the cell binding affinity to the graft surface. Precoating PTFE with a substrate, such as fibronectin, collagen, laminin or gelatin improves coverage and once attached to the graft material the cells will usually grow successfully (2,3).