The role of endothelial cell attachment to elastic fibre molecules in the enhancement of monolayer formation and retention, and the inhibition of smooth muscle cell recruitment

Matthew R. Williamson, Adrian Shuttleworth, Ann E. Canfield, Richard A. Black, Cay M. Kielty

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The endothelium is an essential modulator of vascular tone and thrombogenicity and a critical barrier between the vessel wall and blood components. In tissue-engineered small-diameter vascular constructs, endothelial cell detachment in flow can lead to thrombosis and graft failure. The subendothelial extracellular matrix provides stable endothelial cell anchorage through interactions with cell surface receptors, and influences the proliferation, migration, and survival of both endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. We have tested the hypothesis that these desired physiological characteristics can be conferred by surface coatings of natural vascular matrix components, focusing on the elastic fiber molecules, fibrillin-1, fibulin-5 and tropoelastin. On fibrillin-1 or fibulin-5-coated surfaces, endothelial cells exhibited strong integrin-mediated attachment in static conditions (82% and 76% attachment, respectively) and flow conditions (67% and 78% cell retention on fibrillin-1 or fibulin-5, respectively, at 25 dynes/cm2), confluent monolayer formation, and stable functional characteristics. Adhesion to these two molecules also strongly inhibited smooth muscle cell migration to the endothelial monolayer. In contrast, on elastin, endothelial cells attached poorly, did not spread, and had markedly impaired functional properties. Thus, fibrillin-1 and fibulin-5, but not elastin, can be exploited to enhance endothelial stability, and to inhibit SMC migration within vascular graft scaffolds. These findings have important implications for the design of vascular graft scaffolds, the clinical performance of which may be enhanced by exploiting natural cell-matrix biology to regulate cell attachment and function. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)5307-5318
    Number of pages11
    JournalBiomaterials
    Volume28
    Issue number35
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2007

    Keywords

    • Adhesion molecules
    • Endothelial cells
    • Extracellular matrix
    • Shear stress
    • Smooth muscle cells

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