A Tissue-engineered, Small-diameter Vascular Graft

描述(由申请人提供)： 这份提案描述了一项为期五年的培训计划，旨在发展血管组织工程的学术生涯。首席研究员是一位成就卓著的血管外科医生，他已经开始了一项以创造小口径血管移植物为中心的基础科学工作。现在，通过独特的跨部门资源整合，首席研究员将扩展他的科学技能，以产生翻译研究。 该项目专注于一种新型血管移植物的创造和体内测试。杰斐逊细胞和组织工程项目主任欧文·夏皮罗博士将与杰斐逊心血管生物学研究项目主任托马斯·图伦科博士一起赞助首席研究员的科学发展。夏皮罗博士是骨和软骨组织工程领域的领导者，而图连科博士的专长是血管细胞生物学和心血管疾病。两人在培养博士后研究员和研究生方面都有丰富的经验。为了加强该计划，研究人员将与组织工程结构的电子和激光共聚焦显微镜分析专家克里斯托弗·亚当斯博士、内皮细胞-基质相互作用权威詹姆斯·圣安东尼奥博士和血管移植物重塑专家施毅博士合作。干细胞工程和癌症生物学的科学家基思·丹尼尔森博士和罗纳德·魏格尔博士将进一步建议和指导研究人员的教育计划。 该项目的科学目标是构建和测试一种新型的小口径血管搭桥移植物，这种移植物是通过在天然血管组织支架(脱细胞身体静脉)上种植来自脂肪组织的自体微血管内皮细胞而创建的。具体目标包括确定： 1)内皮细胞种植的最佳支架设计和培养条件，2)构建移植物的最佳范例，3)体内种植移植物的耐久性和愈合特性。 来自杰斐逊细胞与组织工程和心血管研究实验室的资源为培训血管组织工程领域的内科科学家提供了理想的环境。这种环境最大限度地发挥了首席研究人员在具有翻译适用性的领域实现独立的潜力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal describes a five-year training program for the development of an academic career in vascular tissue engineering. The principal investigator is an accomplished vascular surgeon who has begun a basic science effort centered around the creation of a small-caliber vascular graft. Now, through a unique integration of interdepartmental resources, the principal investigator will expand his scientific skills to yield translational research. The program focuses on the creation and in vivo testing of a novel vascular graft. Irving Shapiro, PhD, Director of Jefferson's Cell and Tissue Engineering Program, will sponsor the principal investigator's scientific development along with Thomas Tulenko, PhD, Director of Jefferson's Cardiovascular Biology Research Program. Dr. Shapiro is a leader in the field of bone and cartilage tissue engineering, while Dr. Tulenko's expertise resides in vascular cell biology and cardiovascular disease. Both have extensive experience in training postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. To enhance the program, the investigator will work with Christopher Adams, PhD, an expert in electron and laser confocal microscopic analysis of tissue-engineered constructs; James San Antonio, PhD, an authority in endothelial cell-matrix interactions; and Yi Shi, MD, PhD, an expert in vascular graft remodeling. Keith Danielson, PhD, and Ronald Weigel, MD, PhD, scientists in stem cell engineering and cancer biology, respectively, will further advise and direct the investigator's educational program. The scientific goal of the project is to construct and test a novel small-caliber vascular bypass graft, created by seeding a natural vascular tissue scaffold (decellularized cadaver vein) with autologous microvessel endothelial cells derived from adipose tissue. The specific aims include determining: 1) the optimal scaffold design and media conditions for endothelial cell seeding, 2) the optimal paradigm for graft creation, and 3) the durability and healing characteristics of the seeded graft in vivo. Resources from the Jefferson's Cell and Tissue Engineering and Cardiovascular Research Laboratories provide the ideal setting for training physician-scientists in the field of vascular tissue engineering. This environment maximizes the potential for the principal investigator to achieve independence in a field with translational applicability.