Stimulation of cell growth and resistance to apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells on a chondroitin sulfate/epidermal growth factor coating

Deficient healing after endovascular aneurysm repair is thought to be related to the pro-apoptotic environment in abdominal aortic aneurysms and inertness of the graft materials. A bioactive coating containing both chondroitin sulfate (CS) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) was developed in order to increase the growth and resistance to apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) on biomaterials surfaces. CS and EGF were covalently grafted using carbodiimide chemistry and the coating was characterized and optimized using ellipsometry, static contact angle and ToF-SIMS. Its potential to improve cell adhesion, growth and resistance to apoptosis was assessed in vitro with rat aortic VSMC. Results showed that CS and EGF immobilization allowed for the creation of a uniform coating that increased cell adhesion, growth and resistance to apoptosis in serum-free medium. Overall, CS and EGF possess great potential as bioactive anti-apoptotic mediators for vascular repair.