Artificial capillary network modelling withendothelial cells whi̇ch stored in polymer in rats

Aim: Peripheral arterial disease is an important disease that develops on the basis of atherosclerosis, especially in the elderly. It causes obstruction of the arterial lumen in the lower extremities, decreased blood flow and malperfusion. Advanced medical treatment methods benefit from the reduction of symptoms and better monitoring of the disease, but usually there is no permanent solution. In cases where medical and classical surgical treatment is ineffective, it is important to develop new alternative models for the treatment of PAD patients. The aim of this study is to develop an artificial capillary network model with endothelial cells stored into polymers in rats for use in the treatment of people with peripheral arterial disease. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out by dividing 35 Wistar-Albino rats into 5 different groups. HUVEC stored in polymer of polyethylene glycol structure. The cell-loaded polymer was implanted into the hind limb of the rats and tissue samples were taken for examination on days 14 and 28. VEGF, CD31, α-SMA, ANG-1 markers were used to investigate the vascular structure of immunohistochemical examination. Statistical significance was accepted as p <0,05. Results: Statistically significant difference was found between the filled polymers and empty polymers on the 14th and 28th day according to the endothelial scoring and VEGF staging. There was also a statistically significant difference between the 14th and 28th day sections of the filled polymers. Vascular formation was more observed in the sections taken on the 28th day. ANG-1 and α-SMA parameters were found statistically significant difference between empty and filled polymers on day 28. As a result of examining CD31, there was also a difference between the empty and full polymers taken on the 14th day. Conclusion: With the findings of other studies in the literature and the findings of this study, it has been concluded that the vessel formation is increased by implanting the stem cells into ix the animals. In this study, more vascular formation in the samples taken on the 28th day revealed that more studies should be done in order to find the optimum time for vessel formation. In order to be subject to randomized controlled clinical studies (at the top of the epidemiological evidence pyramid) the best cell type, best biomaterial and optimum time should be found with animal experiments. Key words: peripheral arterial disease, rat, polyethylene glicol, anjiogenesis, VEGF