Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Cardiovascular disease is currently one of the worldwide leading causes of death. Although cases of long-term implantation of existing artificial valves and vessels for more than 10 years have been reported, none of them can be used for lifelong. The reasons for this include thrombus formation due to delayed endothelialization, lack of blood compatibility, poor circulation and occlusion due to stenosis, and infection and dysfunction due to encapsulation reaction during implantation. Based on these, we hypothesized that if endothelialization, hemodynamics, and immune response to materials can be understood and controlled, it will be possible to develop artificial valves and blood vessels that can maintain high performance over the long term. Kobayashi has been studying decellularized tissue, which is attracting attention as a scaffold material for regenerative medicine, and has found that the basement membrane surface structure of decellularized blood vessels affects the adhesion, proliferation, and orientation of endothelial cells. Dr. Anzai, is constructing a technique to visualize changes in hemodynamics due to differences in stent geometry using computational fluid dynamics simulations. Dr. Yamada is working on controlling innate immune mechanisms, such as macrophage polarization, by applying nanostructures to the surface of dental implants. Since all three researchers are focusing on the shape of the interface between the material and the living tissue in common, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of the basement membrane surface structure of decellularized tissues on the activity of human vascular cells and immune cells, and on blood flow dynamics. The collaboration of researchers with three different specialties in materials, simulation, and immunoregulation is expected to lead to the determination of the elements necessary for the development of high-performance cardiovascular devices.