Figure 1.

(a) Experimental set-up of decellularized aorto–aortic bypass grafts made from aorta and aortic valves implanted into GGTA1-KO pigs. Decellularized grafts were implanted into the descending thoracic aorta, allowing continuous blood flow through the grafts and naive aorta. (b) 10 animals, distributed into 5 groups, underwent surgery and were explanted after 3 and 6 months, respectively. Two animals died shortly after surgery (†). Gross morphology of aorto–aortic bypass grafts derived from GGTA1-KO pigs (c), grafts derived from wt pigs (d) and ovine grafts (e) after 3 months in vivo.