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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Acta Biomater. 2020 Apr 16;110:68–81. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.04.013

Figure 6: In vivo evaluation of dECM+PPF as a vascular graft.

Figure 6:

(A-B) The dehydrated vascular grafts manufactured for the rat model had an outer diameter of 1 mm and were 1.5 cm long. (C) Successful implantation of the graft in the abdominal aorta of a rat. (D) Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain, (E) Masson’s trichrome stain, and (F) immunohistochemical stain for smooth muscle actin of the vascular graft explanted after 2 weeks; all scale bars: 1000 μm. The graft is still visibly patent after 2 weeks in vivo. Remnants of the PPF structure (black arrows) are still visible. The dECM is also visible in the cross-sections (white arrows), as the mostly collagen layer observed in the different stains. The rolled composite dECM+PPF material retains its original cylindrical shape and remains patent after 2 weeks. (G) Immunohistochemical staining using CD31 as a marker of endothelial cells on the explanted graft; scale bar: 200 μm. Inset: Endothelialization observed along the inner luminal surface of the vascular graft; inset scale bar: 50 μm.