Effect of Human Serum Albumin on Rat Aortic Smooth Muscle Proliferation
Abstract
Small-diameter vascular grafts are currently unable to be used due to high incidences of clotting. The current material being used for large-diameter grafts, expanded-polytetrafluorethylene (ePTFE), is the best on the market, but it is still unusable in grafts smaller than 6 mm. Human serum albumin (HSA), a possible solution to preventing platelet adhesion, is tested to discover whether it is cytotoxic to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), the cells required for a graft to heal. This is done by first coating the grafts with PGMA (Poly(glycidyl methacrylate)), which allows HSA to adhere to the ePTFE graft. Then, the grafts are placed in a 12-well plate, and sterile Teflon rings are placed on top to concentrate the cell solution. The rat VSMCs are grown until they reach a cell count of 1 million per mL, changing media every 72 hours. The cells are then removed from their flasks and distributed among the samples in the 12-well plates. They are grown for 5 days before they are removed and frozen for CyQUANT Assay analysis. The results from the assay are then analyzed through a two-tail t-test, and it is found there is no statistically significant difference among grafts coated with PGMA/HSA, ePTFE grafts, and empty wells. This means that there is no significant difference in the amount of proliferation, signifying that HSA had no effect. However, HSA did not perform any worse, meaning that it is not cytotoxic to cells, and there is no negative cell response.
Effect of Human Serum Albumin on Rat Aortic Smooth Muscle Proliferation
Founders Hall 142 A
Small-diameter vascular grafts are currently unable to be used due to high incidences of clotting. The current material being used for large-diameter grafts, expanded-polytetrafluorethylene (ePTFE), is the best on the market, but it is still unusable in grafts smaller than 6 mm. Human serum albumin (HSA), a possible solution to preventing platelet adhesion, is tested to discover whether it is cytotoxic to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), the cells required for a graft to heal. This is done by first coating the grafts with PGMA (Poly(glycidyl methacrylate)), which allows HSA to adhere to the ePTFE graft. Then, the grafts are placed in a 12-well plate, and sterile Teflon rings are placed on top to concentrate the cell solution. The rat VSMCs are grown until they reach a cell count of 1 million per mL, changing media every 72 hours. The cells are then removed from their flasks and distributed among the samples in the 12-well plates. They are grown for 5 days before they are removed and frozen for CyQUANT Assay analysis. The results from the assay are then analyzed through a two-tail t-test, and it is found there is no statistically significant difference among grafts coated with PGMA/HSA, ePTFE grafts, and empty wells. This means that there is no significant difference in the amount of proliferation, signifying that HSA had no effect. However, HSA did not perform any worse, meaning that it is not cytotoxic to cells, and there is no negative cell response.
