Fig. 5. Mechanical constituents throughout neovessel formation.
A Representative ex vivo biaxial mechanical testing of TEVGs at 6 weeks (red) (N = 8) and 78 weeks (black) (N = 3) as well as native IVC (white) (N = 3). Comparison of mechanical measurements from biaxial mechanical testing shown in (B). C Representative trichrome staining of TEVGs demonstrated changes in thickness as well as ECM and cellular composition of neotissue. PCLA layer outlined in black, with PGA layer noted in blue. D Quantifications of trichrome and Picro-Sirius Red staining. Scale bar 2 mm. Data shown as mean ± SD (histology N = 1, 12, 10, 12, 25 for 1 week, 6 weeks, 26 weeks, 52 weeks, and native respectively). Statistical significance determined using ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test. *<0.05, **<0.01, ***<0.001, ****<0.0001. TEVG: tissue engineered vascular grafts, ECM: extracellular matrix, PCLA: polycaprolactone-lactide, PGA: polyglycolic acid.