A combined strategy to reduce restenosis for vascular tissue engineering application

In-stent restenosis has always been an important issue to deal with after cardiovascular stent implantation. Various strategies have been proposed to overcome the issue. In our strategy we have combined the drug delivery principle with strategies of tissue engineering to develop the stent scaffold. We first integrated curcumin, anti-proliferative drug for smooth muscle cells (SMC), in poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) stent scaffold. This scaffold was then modified using adsorptive coating of adhesive proteins that enhance the endothelial cell (EC) adhesion and proliferation. Our results showed steady drug release kinetics over the period of 50 days from these stents Also fibronectin coating on curcumin-loaded PLLA surfaces gave the highest cell adhesion (p<0.0001) and proliferation (p<0.0001). Ability of the scaffold to secrete the curcumin at a stable rate and improved endothelial cell adhesion and growth suggest this scaffold may be suitable as a candidate for the tissue-engineered stent to reduce in-stent restenosis.