SEEDING OF ENZYMATICALLY DERIVED AND SUBCULTIVATED CANINE ENDOTHELIAL-CELLS ON FIBROUS POLYURETHANE VASCULAR PROSTHESES

Fibrous polyurethane (FPU) prostheses with or without fibronectin coating and gelatin impregnation and FPU prostheses with or without fibronectin coating were seeded with 4.8 x 10(5) subcultivated dog endothelial cells per cm2 prosthesis. Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) prostheses with and without fibronectin coating served as controls. The numbers of cells retained on uncoated polyurethane prostheses were minimal but increased with fibronectin coating and/or gelatin impregnation. Adhering cells were predominantly round in shape and few cells were seen stretched over the prosthetic fibres. Optimum numbers of cells were found in prostheses impregnated with gelatin and coated with fibronectin, where almost all the cells were stretched forming a confluent monolayer. In ePTFE prostheses only minimal numbers of cells were retained but in the fibronectin-coated prostheses a high cell count was noted. Gelatin-impregnated and fibronectin-coated FPU prostheses, as well as ePTFE prostheses coated with fibronectin, were additionally perfused in vitro after seeding under nearly physiological conditions for 1 h. Cells in the FPU prostheses were still present after perfusion, whereas all the cells in the ePTFE prostheses were lost from the inner surface. It is concluded that FPU prostheses impregnated with gelatin and coated with fibronectin are a suitable substrate for subcultivated endothelial cells to be seeded on. The cells remained at the surface even after 1 h in vitro perfusion with tissue culture medium under nearly physiological conditions. Further research including in vivo implantations is indicated.