Development of a natural tubular scaffold from decellularized parsley stems to be used in vascular tissue engineering applications

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are usually associated with narrowing or blockage of blood vessels and are the leading cause of death globally. By 2030, the annual incidence of CVD-related deaths is estimated to increase 23.3 million. Considering the advancements in endovascular surgery, the use of vascular grafts in cardiovascular surgery is becoming increasingly common. Autografts are the gold standard but have limitations, including limited tissue availability and complications from vessel isolation. Recently, synthetic grafts have emerged as alternatives, though they often fail due to thrombosis, atherosclerosis, intimal hyperplasia, or infection. Thrombosis, the main cause of post-implantation failure, is associated with damage or absence of the endothelial cell lining on the luminal surface of the vascular graft. To overcome the limitations mentioned so far, tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVG) have come into prominence. The use of decellularized plant tissues in tissue engineering applications has recently gained great importance. Accordingly, in this study, we fabricated tubular scaffolds from decellularized parsley stems and evaluated them in vitro as potential TEVGs. Our results demonstrated that native plant DNA was successfully removed, and biocompatible tubular biomaterials were successfully fabricated via chemical decellularization of parsley stems. The decellularized parsley stems showed suitable mechanical and biological properties for use as TEVG material. Finally, they were found to provide a convenient environment to form a pseudo-endothelium by recellularization with human endothelial cells prior to implantation. This study is the pioneer in the literature that reports on the potential of parsley stems to be used as a potential TEVG biomaterial