The Role of Collagen Cross-Links in Biomechanical Behavior of Human Aortic Heart Valve Leaflets-Relevance for Tissue Engineering

A major challenge in tissue engineering of functional heart valves is to determine and mimic the dominant tissue structures that regulate heart valve function and in vivo survival. In native heart valves, the anisotropic matrix architecture assures sustained and adequate functioning under high-press...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tissue engineering 2007-07, Vol.13 (7), p.151-1511
Main Authors: Balguid, Angelique, Rubbens, Mirjam P., Mol, Anita, Bank, Ruud A., Bogers, Ad J.J.C., van Kats, Jorge P., de Mol, Bas A.J.M., Baaijens, Frank P.T., Bouten, Carlijn V.C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aortic Valve - anatomy & histology
Aortic Valve - physiology
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomedical research
Collagen - physiology
Female
Heart
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Proteins
Tissue Engineering
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A major challenge in tissue engineering of functional heart valves is to determine and mimic the dominant tissue structures that regulate heart valve function and in vivo survival. In native heart valves, the anisotropic matrix architecture assures sustained and adequate functioning under high-pressure conditions. Collagen, being the main load-bearing matrix component, contributes significantly to the biomechanical strength of the tissue. This study investigates the relationship between collagen content, collagen cross-links, and biomechanical behavior in human aortic heart valve leaflets and in tissue-engineered constructs. In the main loading direction (circumferential) of native valve leaflets, a significant positive linear correlation between modulus of elasticity and collagen cross-link concentration was found, whereas no correlation between modulus of elasticity and collagen content was found. Similar findings were observed in tissue-engineered constructs, where cross-link concentration was higher for dynamically strained constructs then for statically cultured controls. These findings suggest a dominant role for collagen cross-links over collagen content with respect to biomechanical tissue behavior in human heart valve leaflets. They further suggest that dynamic tissue straining in tissue engineering protocols can enhance cross-link concentration and biomechanical function.
ISSN:1076-3279
1557-8690
DOI:10.1089/ten.2006.0279