Complete in vitro prosthesis endothelialization induced by artificial extracellular matrix

This report presents our research on the conditions necessary to substain o ptimal in vitro prosthetic endothelialization using human endothelium cultu res. Human vein endothelial cells were seeded at a concentration of 3 x 10( 5)/cm(2) in a gelatinized Dacron patch graft coated with a commercial colla gen film, using a solution of fibrin glue. Endothelium adhesion, proliferat ion, and survival were measured by [H-3]thymidine incorporation, after 7 da ys of incubation. Finally, the morphology of prosthetic endothelialization was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. We observed that the Dacron p atch grafts coated with collagen film were able to promote endothelializati on better than the prostheses coated with highly concentrated collagen solu tion or gelatin. We therefore concluded that the collagen film that support s endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation uniformly covers the entire s ynthetic endoluminal surface of the Dacron graft, thus preventing endotheli al cell alterations induced by direct contact with the synthetic prosthetic surface.