Fig. 7.

In vivo recellularization of scaffolds implanted in jugular interposition model. Scaffolds recellularization capability was determined by the degree of cell repopulation of scaffolds as seen in H&E histological images, platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM-1) staining and its quantification. (A) BM scaffolds experienced higher number of cell repopulation on the luminal surface and within the scaffold tunica media, whereas untreated SV scaffolds and NBM scaffolds resulted in very low overall cellular repopulation. It is possible some cell repopulation occurred in the Autograft scaffolds, however the majority of the cells were likely present before the surgical procedure. Scale bar 100 μm. (B) Positive PECAM-1 staining indicates some of the cells present in the luminal surface of BM scaffolds are endothelial cells. The difference in cells morphology and PECAM-1 secretion pattern of endothelial cell in the BM scaffolds from those in the Autograft scaffolds may be due to the short timeframe in vivo implantation. Scale bar 10 μm. (C) BM scaffolds experienced the highest number of endothelial cell repopulation in the lumen of the scaffold when compared to the other bovine groups. Due to the non-parametric statistics the number of endothelial cells found in the lumen of the BM scaffolds was not statistically different than that of the Autograft group although the absolute number is noticeably lower. Wilcoxon/Kruskal-Wallis Test with Dunn post-hoc analysis on non-parametric medians. * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001.