ABSTRACT
Endothelial cell seeding (ECS) is the research technology that has developed over the past decade in an effort to create a more biological blood/surface lining on vascular prostheses and thus hopefully a more successful artificial vascular graft in terms of longevity of performance. Since endothelial cells are nature’s natural cellular lining of all blood vessels and the chambers of the heart, the ultimate goal of the research is to promote the attachment and reproduction of endothelial cells transplanted from a natural source of these cells in a patient onto a synthetic vascular graft material implanted as a bypass graft in the same patient. The research effort has inherently interested and involved basic scientists as well as clinical researchers in the medical sciences and surgeons. The research efforts have contributed significantly to the understanding of basic endothelial cell functions and blood/surface interactions. This chapter summarizes the historical development of the science of endothelial cell seeding and highlights those areas of research requiring additional investigations. The chapter concludes with the current status of ECS in patients undergoing peripheral revascularization procedures and the possibility of genetically manipulating seeded endothelial cells to produce novel gene products.
