Improved endothelial cell proliferation on laminin-derived peptide conjugated nanofibrous microtubes using custom made bioreactor

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are currently considered as one of the major reasons for death worldwide. The blockage of minor vessels such as the coronary arteries may be linked to more severe occurrences that might be fatal. The gold standard approach involves the transplantation of secondary vessels or the use of synthetic vascular grafts. Electrospun nanofiber (NF) based grafts produced with synthetic polymers might be simply modified to resemble the original structure of vessels providing desirable physical features and potentially improving cellular behavior including cell attachment, growth, and differentiation. Although poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), is well-known, commercially available, degradable synthetic, has good mechanical and biocompatibility properties, PLGA is inadequate in terms of cell recognition signals. To overcome the bioactivity problem of PLGA, bioactive peptides are the most extensively utilized approach for surface modification. On the other hand, seeding and cultivation of tube-like conduits are challenging due to their shapes, and dynamic seeding and culture are considered beneficial for these grafts. Herein, we attempted to enhance the Endothelial Cells (ECs) attachment and proliferation on PLGA electrospun NF-based vascular grafts by both the conjugation of laminin-derived peptide IKVAV and perfusion culture with the custom-made bioreactor system. The bioreactor and its flow and pressure were simulated and decided using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) adhesion and proliferation were increased by both functionalization of PLGA graft with IKVAV and using a custom-made perfusion bioreactor for cell seeding and cultivation within 7 days (d). This tubular vascular graft could be a potential tissue-engineered scaffold for the restoration of the venous system.