Median sternotomy is the surgical method of choice for many procedures where one of the main problems is the long post-operative wound healing process leading to sternal dehiscence and the ...development of infection. This leads to prolonged hospital stay and increased mortality due to post-operative complications. A promising solution seems to be the use of allogeneic chondrocytes for wound treatment, whose properties in the field of cartilage reconstruction are widely used in medicine, mainly in orthopedics. In the present study, we investigated the effect of local delivery of allogeneic chondrocytes on the biological response and healing of the sternum after sternotomy. We optimized the culture conditions for the isolated chondrocytes, which were then applied to the sternal incision wound. Chondrocytes in the culture were assessed on the basis of the presence of chondrocyte-specific genes: Sox9, Aggrecan and Collagen II. In turn, the histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation was used to assess the safety of implantation. In our work, we demonstrated the possibility of obtaining a viable culture of chondrocytes, which were successfully introduced into the sternal wound after sternotomy. Importantly, implantation of allogeneic chondrocytes showed no significant side effects. The obtained results open new possibilities for research on the use of allogeneic chondrocytes in the process of accelerating wound healing after median sternotomy.
Transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) is an emerging therapeutic option for addressing intractable diseases such as critical limb ischemia (CLI). Evidence suggests that therapeutic ...effects of ADSCs are primarily mediated through paracrine mechanisms rather than transdifferentiation. These secreted factors can be captured in conditioned medium (CM) and concentrated to prepare a therapeutic factor concentrate (TFC) composed of a cocktail of beneficial growth factors and cytokines that individually and in combination demonstrate disease-modifying effects. The ability of a TFC to promote reperfusion in a rabbit model of CLI was evaluated. A total of 27 adult female rabbits underwent surgery to induce ischemia in the left hindlimb. An additional five rabbits served as sham controls. One week after surgery, the ischemic limbs received intramuscular injections of either (1) placebo (control medium), (2) a low dose of TFC, or (3) a high dose of TFC. Limb perfusion was serially assessed with a Doppler probe. Blood samples were analyzed for growth factors and cytokines. Tissue was harvested postmortem on day 35 and assessed for capillary density by immunohistochemistry. At 1 month after treatment, tissue perfusion in ischemic limbs treated with a high dose of TFC was almost double (p < 0.05) that of the placebo group 58.8 ± 23 relative perfusion units (RPU) vs. 30.7 ± 13.6 RPU; mean ± SD. This effect was correlated with greater capillary density in the affected tissues and with transiently higher serum levels of the angiogenic and prosurvival factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). The conclusions from this study are that a single bolus administration of TFC demonstrated robust effects for promoting tissue reperfusion in a rabbit model of CLI and that a possible mechanism of revascularization was promotion of angiogenesis by TFC. Results of this study demonstrate that TFC represents a potent therapeutic cocktail for patients with CLI, many of whom are at risk for amputation of the affected limb.
The therapeutic potential of adipose-derived stem cell conditioned medium (ASC-CM) was studied in the rabbit model of critical limb ischemia (CLI).
Rabbits received treatment with ASC-CM or placebo. ...Gastrocnemius muscle tissue was collected 35 days after ischemia induction. Ischemic changes were evaluated in hematoxylin-eosin stained tissues for early (necrotic lesions/granulation tissue) and late (fibrous scars) phases of tissue repair. The expression of proangiogenic miR-126 was also evaluated using in situ hybridization. The levels of cytokines, insulin, and C-peptide were measured in blood.
Early repair phases were observed more often in placebo-treated samples (45.5%) than in ASC-CM-treated ones (22.2%). However, the difference was not statistically significant. We demonstrated a statistically significant positive correlation between the early healing phases in tissue samples and C-peptide levels in peripheral blood. The expression of proangiogenic miR-126 was also shown in a number of structures in all phases of ischemic tissue healing.
Based on our results, we believe that treatment with ASC-CM has the potential to accelerate the healing process in ischemic tissues in the rabbit model of CLI. The whole healing process was accompanied by miR-126 tissue expression. C-peptide could be used to monitor the course of the tissue healing process.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The very long-term mortality of off-pump and on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) versus percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a randomized complex coronary artery ...disease population is unknown. This study aims to investigate the impact of on-pump and off-pump CABG versus PCI on 10-year all-cause mortality.
METHODS
The SYNTAX trial randomized 1800 patients with three-vessel and/or left main coronary artery disease to PCI or CABG and assessed their survival at 10 years. In this sub-study, the hazard of mortality over 10 years was compared according to the technique of revascularization: on-pump CABG (n = 725), off-pump CABG (n = 128) and PCI (n = 903).
RESULTS
There was substantial inter-site variation in the use of off-pump CABG despite baseline characteristics being largely homogeneous among the 3 groups. The crude rate of mortality was significantly lower following on-pump CABG versus PCI 25.6% vs 28.4%, hazard ratio (HR) 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65–0.96, while it was comparable between off-pump CABG and PCI (28.5% vs 28.4%, HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.69–1.40). After adjusting for the 9 variables included in the SYNTAX score II 2020, 10-year mortality remained significantly lower with on-pump CABG than PCI (HR 0.75 against PCI, P = 0.009).
CONCLUSIONS
In the SYNTAXES trial, 10-year mortality adjusted for major confounders was significantly lower following on-pump CABG compared to PCI. There was no evidence for unadjusted difference between off-pump CABG and PCI, although the unadjusted estimated HR had a wide CI. Site heterogeneity in the technique used in bypass surgery has had measurable effects on treatment performance.
For 30 years, the risks and benefits of the off-pump versus on-pump approach to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery have been debated extensively 1.
Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile and tissue effects of everolimus delivered into arterial wall using biodegradable nanospheres.
Background
Delivery of everolimus ...into the arterial wall is challenging due to its low‐lipophilic profile.
Methods
A pharmacokinetic study included 28 porcine coronary arterial segments initially injured with balloon angioplasty followed by the local delivery of everolimus encapsulated in nanospheres (EEN) via injection through a microporous delivery catheter. The animals were sacrificed at 1 hour, 1,7,28, and 90‐day follow‐up. In the tissue effects study 16 coronary bare metal stent (BMS) were implanted following EEN delivery, 15 BMS following nanospheres delivery without the drug (reference group) and 16 implanted BMS served as a control. Angiographic and histology follow‐up was scheduled at 28 and 90‐day.
Results
The study showed high‐everolimus concentrations in arterial tissue early after nanoparticles delivery followed by its gradual decrease to 1.15 ± 0.40 ng/mg at 90 days. Histology analysis showed favorable biocompatibility and healing profile with comparable area stenosis between groups at both time‐points.
Conclusions
The present study demonstrates for the first time the safety, biocompatibility, and long‐term retention of everolimus in arterial tissue after single local delivery of biodegradable nanospheres.
Background Fast releasing, rapamycin eluting stents although safe, showed inferior results with regard to inhibition of restenosis. ...we report vascular effects of the novel, biodegradable polymer ...stent matrix with elevated sirolimus dose and fast release kinetics (ed-frSES, Alex, Balton) in the porcine coronary in stent restenosis model.
The aim of the study was to develop a mathematical formula describing the relationship between FFR and HR and to verify the results in an in-vivo experimental setting using porcine model of coronary ...stenosis.
Objectives:
We aimed to comprehensively evaluate poly-lactide polymer degradation and sirolimus release kinetics from a drug-eluting stent matrix in the in vivo setting using a nuclear magnetic ...resonance (NMR) method.
Methods:
In 22 domestic swine, 18 biodegradable polymer-only coated stents (BPSs) and 36 biodegradable polymer-coated sirolimus-eluting stents (BP-SES) were implanted in coronary arteries with 115% overstretch. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days following baseline procedures. Vessel segments with BPS were harvested to evaluate polymer degradation with a NMR method, whereas BP-SES to analyze sirolimus tissue uptake and retention. Additionally, 8 BP-SES were implanted for histological analysis for 90 days of follow-up.
Results:
The NMR showed a gradual absorption of the polymer over the 6 consecutive time points, from 5.48 µg of the polymer on the stent at 1-day follow-up, through 4.33 µg at 3 days, 3.16 µg at 7 days, 2.42 µg at 14 days, 1.92 µg at 28 days to 1.24 µg in the last day of the study. The curve of polymer degradation corresponds well with the pharmacokinetic profile of sirolimus eluted from its surface and measured at identical time points. In histopathology, at 90 days, complete healing and biocompatibility were reported.
Conclusions:
The utilization of NMR method for BP absorption kinetics evaluation is a useful tool, which may be widely adopted to test other biodegradable implants. Further, it may substantially improve their safety and efficacy by facilitating programmed polymer and drugs elution.