In vitro and in situ intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression by endothelial cells lining a polyester fabric

In order to improve long-term patency of vascular grafts, the promising concept of endothelial cell seeding is actually under investigation. Our laboratory tested a polyester coated with albumin and chitosan which permits a rapid colonization by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and it seems relevant to test in vitro the expression of adhesive molecules expressed by cells with regard to the inflammatory process. We studied intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression and focused our work on the determination of ICAM-1 sites expressed per adherent cell lining the biomaterial, thus in situ, in comparison to control HUVEC on plastic wells: the results obtained by binding experiments were correlated to flow cytometry analyses and showed that the polyester does not induce a proinflammatory state and that HUVEC covering the structure are able to respond to a stimulus.