Tissue-engineered vascular grafts allow neovessel formation by recruiting adjacent vascular tissue

Hypothesis: Tissue Engineered Vascular Grafts (TEVGs) constructed by seeding cells autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells onto dissolvable scaffolding aid in the recruitment of cells from either the host's bone marrow or neighboring vasculature to form the graft neotissue.;Methods: RT-PCR was performed on explanted grafts to detect presence of seeded cells. FISH for Y chromosome was performed on female mice with male bone marrow transplant along with female mice with implanted male-composite TEVG.;Results: The seeded cells on implanted TEVGs decrease precipitously from 4.37% to 0.02% from 6hr to 14 days. At 6 months post implantation composite graft TEVGs displayed a high percentage of Y chromosome-positive cells adjacent to male inferior vena cava tissue. Explanted grafts from female mice following male bone marrow transplant revealed no neotissue positive for Y chromosome.;Discussion: TEVGs derive their neotissue from adjacent vasculature following implantation that is mechanistically aided by the presence of seeded bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells.