Human umbilical cord cells for cardiovascular tissue engineering: a comparative study

Abstract

Tissue engineering of cardiovascular constructs by using UCA, UCV and UCC is feasible in an in vitro environment. Cell growth, morphology, characteristics and tissue formation were comparable between UCA, UCV, UCC and VC. UCC represent an attractive, readily available autologous cell source for cardiovascular tissue engineering offering the additional benefits of utilizing juvenile cells and avoiding the invasive harvesting of intact vascular structures.