The development and mechanical characterisation of a novel reinforced venous conduit that mimics the mechanical properties of an arterial wall

Eimear B. Dolan, Gillian M. Gunning, Travis A. Davis, Gerard Cooney, Tatiane Eufrasio, Bruce P. Murphy

Venous grafts have been used to bypass stenotic arteries for many decades. However, this "gold standard" treatment is far from optimal, with long-term vein graft patency rates reported to be as low as 50% at >15 years. These results could be a result of the structural and functional differences of veins compared to arteries. In this study we developed a new protocol for manufacturing reinforced fresh veins with a decellularized porcine arterial scaffold. This novel method was designed to be replicated easily in a surgical setting, and manufactured reinforced constructs were robust and easier to handle than the veins alone. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these Reinforced Venous-Arterial Conduits have comparable mechanical properties to native arteries, in terms of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) (2.36 vs. 2.24MPa) and collagen dominant phase (11.04 vs. 12.26MPa). Therefore, the Reinforced Venous-Arterial Conduit combines the benefits of using the current gold standard homogenous venous grafts composed of a confluent endothelial surface, with an "off-the-shelf" decellularized artery to improve the mechanical properties to closely mimic those of native arteries, while maintaining the self-repairing characteristics of native tissue. In conclusion in this study we have produced a construct and a new technique that combines the mechanical properties of both a natural vein and a decellularized artery to produce a reinforced venous graft that closely mimics the mechanical response of an arterial segment.