Vascular grafts derived from acellular tissue matrices

Abstract

A vascular graft for treatment of diseased or damaged blood vessels is disclosed. The graft comprises a sheet of acellular tissue matrix with an intact basement membrane. The graft is formed by wrapping the sheet into a tube and securing the edges of the sheet together. The acellular tissue matrix facilitates tissue ingrowth and remodeling of the graft with host cells.

1 . A method of using a vascular graft to treat blood vessels, comprising:
 selecting a blood vessel; and   securing a vascular graft to the blood vessel, the vascular graft comprising:
 an anticoagulant; 
 a tubular conduit comprising a tubular wall, the tubular wall defining a lumen for the passage of blood therethrough; and 
 wherein the tubular wall comprises an acellular tissue matrix having a basement membrane, the basement membrane forming a luminal surface of the tubular wall. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising attaching a first longitudinal edge of the acellular tissue matrix to a second longitudinal edge of the acellular tissue matrix to form a fluid-tight seam extending along a length of the vascular graft. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first and second longitudinal edges are attached with an adhesive. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the adhesive comprises fibrinogen. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein attaching the first and the second longitudinal edges with the adhesive creates a longitudinal ridge protruding from an abluminal surface of the tubular wall. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising treating the vascular graft with growth factors that promote tissue remodeling. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the basement membrane of the sheet is treated with anti-thrombotic agents. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the basement membrane of the sheet is treated with anti-calcification agents. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first and the second longitudinal edges are attached using a combination of sutures and the adhesive. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sizing the acellular tissue matrix to correspond to the wall thickness of the selected blood vessel. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the acellular tissue matrix is dermal acellular tissue matrix. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the dermal acellular tissue matrix is derived from human skin. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the dermal acellular tissue matrix is derived from tissue that is xenogeneic to a human recipient. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the tissue is from an 1,3-galactosyltransferase (α1,3GT) deficient pig. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the dermal acellular tissue matrix is derived from tissue that is allogeneic to a human recipient. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the anticoagulant comprises heparin. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein securing the vascular graft comprises wrapping the acellular tissue matrix around the blood vessel. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the vascular graft is wrapped around stenotic or partially occluded segments of the blood vessel. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising removing diseased portions of the blood vessel. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the vascular graft replaces the stenotic or partially occluded segments of the blood vessel. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tubular conduit comprises a single sheet of acellular tissue matrix.