Key result
Cyclic stretch elicited significant increases in DNA and collagen content and maintained effective stiffness in valvular interstitial cell-seeded poly(glycerol sebacate) scaffolds.
Why the study?
Does cyclic stretch and flexure affect the mechanical properties and extracellular matrix production in poly(glycerol sebacate) scaffolds seeded with valvular interstitial cells?
Does cyclic stretch and flexure affect the mechanical properties and extracellular matrix production in poly(glycerol sebacate) scaffolds seeded with valvular interstitial cells?
Cyclic stretch and flexure mechanical loading modulates the mechanical properties and promotes extracellular matrix production in tissue-engineered heart valves based on elastomeric scaffolds.
May guide scaffold optimization for tissue-engineered valves; hypothesis-generating and requires in vivo validation.
Cyclic flexure and stretch are essential to the function of semilunar heart valves and have demonstrated utility in mechanically conditioning tissue-engineered heart valves. In this study, a cyclic stretch and flexure bioreactor was designed and tested in the context of the bioresorbable elastomer poly(glycerol sebacate). Solid poly(glycerol sebacate) membranes were subjected to cyclic stretch, and micromolded poly(glycerol sebacate) scaffolds seeded with porcine aortic valvular interstitial cells were subjected to cyclic stretch and flexure. The results demonstrated significant effects of cyclic stretch on poly(glycerol sebacate) mechanical properties, including significant decreases in effective stiffness versus controls. In valvular interstitial cell-seeded scaffolds, cyclic stretch elicited significant increases in DNA and collagen content that paralleled maintenance of effective stiffness. This work provides a basis for investigating the roles of mechanical loading in the formation of tissue-engineered heart valves based on elastomeric scaffolds.
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Masoumi et al. (2014) studied engineered heart valve tissues. cyclic stretch and flexure vs. controls was evaluated on mechanical properties, DNA and collagen content. Cyclic stretch elicited significant increases in DNA and collagen content and maintained effective stiffness in valvular interstitial cell-seeded poly(glycerol sebacate) scaffolds.
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