Abstract
The metallic stent has been widely used in endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms and arterial stenosis. Endothelialization at the neck of the aneurysm or stenotic lesion after stent deployment plays a pivotal role in preventing aneurysm recurrence, as well as local thrombus formation and restenosis. To deliver autologous endothelial cells and to promote the endothelialization on the luminal wall of the parent artery, we established an endothelial cellβseeded intracranial stent device. Endothelial cells were isolated from canine jugular vein and identified by FACS assay and immunohistochemistry. We demonstrated that the seeded endothelial cells formed a confluent endothelial layer on the stent's surface. After being brushed with 100 dyne/cm^2^ of shear stress, we found that this endothelial layer remained intact for at least 48 h on the heparinized polymer coated stent, rather than the polyβlacticβacid coated stent (p < 0.05). The results suggest that an autologous endothelial cellβseeded stent may be a feasible and optimal tool for endothelial delivery during stenting and may overcome some limitations of the traditional bare stent in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms and arterial stenosis. Β© 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2008