Cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, stroke and peripheral arterial disease, is the leading cause of mortality in the United States. There is an urgent clinical need for a readily available, small diameter (<5 mm ID) vascular prosthesis to treat atherosclerotic vascular disease. The main impediments to successful implementation of vascular graft prostheses are the lack of rapid endothelialization, along with thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia (IH). To address these problems, we propose to develop a novel, ready- to-implant biomimetic modification of commercially available small diameter ePTFE grafts that will encourage rapid in vivo endothelialization and healing without stimulating thrombosis and without the need for endothelial cell (EC) pre-seeding. Our overall hypothesis is that EC function on small diameter vascular grafts can be controlled by utilizing peptides with high affinity and specificity for EC surface receptors in a biomimetic surfactant polymer that will also suppress platelet adhesion and graft thrombosis, and that a biodegradable adventitial/medial extracellular matrix (ECM) mimetic polymer gel system will encourage smooth muscle cell (SMC) incorporation and healing within the graft, without stimulating IH.
Specific Aim 1 will focus on EC function on biomimetic fluorosurfactant polymers with coupled cell binding ligands that are selective for EC and not platelets on ePTFE and model fluoro-silane surfaces. The biomimetic polymer enables control over the density and spatial distribution of peptide ligands. The pendant ligands will include cyclic RGD peptides that demonstrate high affinity and specificity for 1v23 (compared to 1IIb23), REDV peptide with specificity for 1421, CRRETAWAC peptide specific for 1521, and heparin binding peptides that demonstrate specificity for syndecans. EC functions to be measured include adhesion, proliferation, migration, cytoskeletal organization, gene expression, shear stability, inflammatory state, and hemostasis, as well as competitive interactions with platelets.
Aim 2 focuses on investigating EC function on biomimetic polymers utilizing combinations of vascular-specific cell-binding peptides and carbohydrates.
In Aim 3, we propose to develop a biodegradable ECM-mimetic gel polymerized around ePTFE fibrils and designed to support SMC incorporation, contractile phenotype, and healing within the graft. The polymer gel will incorporate RGD, and SMC-binding 1-dystroglycan and laminin peptides presented on pendant dendrons. SMC-binding functionalities will be studied in the gel alone, and when incorporated into the interstices of an ePTFE vascular prosthesis.
In Aim 4, we plan to validate that EC-specific biomimetic polymers are successful in modulating in vitro EC function and able to function in an in vitro perfusion system and in a chronic in vivo small-diameter vascular graft porcine model. Successful completion of these aims will result in the development of a biomimetic ePTFE prosthesis suitable for longer-term animal and clinical studies.Cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, stroke and peripheral arterial disease, is the leading cause of mortality in the United States (1-3), To help address this major public health problem, there is an urgent clinical need for a readily available, biofunctional small diameter (<5 mm ID) arterial replacement (vascular graft prosthesis) to treat atherosclerotic vascular disease. The main impediments to successful vascular graft prosthesis are the lack of rapid endothelialization, thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia. The proposed research will address these problems, through the development of a novel, ready-to-implant biomimetic small diameter graft that will encourage rapid in vivo endothelialization and healing without stimulating thrombosis. Successful completion of the research will provide biomimetic vascular graft prosthesis suitable for clinical studies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL087843-05
Application #
8233556
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SBIB-E (03))
Program Officer
Lee, Albert
Project Start
2008-03-01
Project End
2014-02-28
Budget Start
2012-03-01
Budget End
2014-02-28
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$519,523
Indirect Cost
$183,262
Name
Case Western Reserve University
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Type
Schools of Engineering
DUNS #
077758407
City
Cleveland
State
OH
Country
United States
Zip Code
44106
Bastijanic, Jennifer M; Marchant, Roger E; Kligman, Faina et al. (2016) In vivo evaluation of biomimetic fluorosurfactant polymer-coated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts in a porcine carotid artery bypass model. J Vasc Surg 63:1620-1630.e4
Bastijanic, Jennifer M; Kligman, Faina L; Marchant, Roger E et al. (2016) Dual biofunctional polymer modifications to address endothelialization and smooth muscle cell integration of ePTFE vascular grafts. J Biomed Mater Res A 104:71-81
Jones, Derek R; Marchant, Roger E; von Recum, Horst et al. (2015) Photoinitiator-free synthesis of endothelial cell-adhesive and enzymatically degradable hydrogels. Acta Biomater 13:52-60
Lin, Lin; Marchant, Roger E; Zhu, Junmin et al. (2014) Extracellular matrix-mimetic poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels engineered to regulate smooth muscle cell proliferation in 3-D. Acta Biomater 10:5106-5115
Dudash, Lynn A; Kligman, Faina L; Bastijanic, Jennifer M et al. (2014) Cross-reactivity of cell-selective CRRETAWAC peptide with human and porcine endothelial cells. J Biomed Mater Res A 102:2857-63
Lin, Lin; Zhu, Junmin; Kottke-Marchant, Kandice et al. (2014) Biomimetic-engineered poly (ethylene glycol) hydrogel for smooth muscle cell migration. Tissue Eng Part A 20:864-73
Zhu, Junmin; He, Ping; Lin, Lin et al. (2012) Biomimetic poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogels as scaffolds for inducing endothelial adhesion and capillary-like network formation. Biomacromolecules 13:706-13
Dudash, Lynn A; Kligman, Faina; Sarett, Samantha M et al. (2012) Endothelial cell attachment and shear response on biomimetic polymer-coated vascular grafts. J Biomed Mater Res A 100:2204-10
Zhu, Junmin; Marchant, Roger E (2011) Design properties of hydrogel tissue-engineering scaffolds. Expert Rev Med Devices 8:607-26
Zhu, Junmin (2010) Bioactive modification of poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels for tissue engineering. Biomaterials 31:4639-56

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