CALCIFICATION OF VALVED AORTIC ALLOGRAFTS IN RATS - EFFECTS OF AGE, CROSS-LINKING, AND INHIBITORS

Experiments were carried out to investigate rat aortic allograft calci fication using valved abdominal aortic allografts. Results indicated t hat this was a potentially useful model for investigating fresh allogr aft calcification, as well as mineralization of glutaraldehyde-crossli nked valved allografts. Valve cusp results, however, were not comparab le to those noted in large animal or human studies, while aortic wall calcification was more comparable. Calcification inhibitor investigati ons demonstrated that nearly complete inhibition of the calcification of the aortic wall of glutaraldehyde-crosslinked allografts was achiev ed using a number of individual inhibitors, including controlled relea se diphosphonates, and pretreatment with either ferric chloride or alu minum chloride. However, aminopropanehydroxydiphosphonate pretreatment was not efficacious, and sodium dodecyl sulfate pretreatment was only partially effective for inhibiting the aortic wall calcification in t he glutaraldehyde-crosslinked allografts. It is concluded that valved aortic allografts in rats provide a useful model for investigating aor tic wall (but not valve cusp) calcification and its inhibition. (C) 19 95 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.