Background and aim of the study: Biological heart valve prostheses undergo degenerative changes which lead ultimately to dysfunction or even complete destruction. The study aim was to evaluate immunological factors and their potential role in biological heart valve destruction.
Methods: Allogeneic (n = 10) and xenogeneic (n = 3) aortic valve prostheses, as well as aortic valves retrieved from transplanted human hearts which had to be replaced due to chronic graft rejection (n = 4), were analyzed. Aortic valves from human donor hearts (n = 4) served as controls. Evaluated adhesion molecule expression included: selectin family ELAM-1, CD62; integrin family VLA-1, -2, -3, -4, -5 and -6; immuoglobulin supergene family PECAM-1, ICAM-1 and -2, and class I heavy chain proteins; complementary adhesion molecules CD34, CD44 and von Willebrand factor.
Results: ELAM-1, ICAM-1 and -2, CD34, CD44 and class I heavy chain proteins, which play significant roles during inflammatory processes, showed stronger expression patterns in allogeneic and xenogeneic aortic heart valve prostheses compared to native or chronically rejected valves. Furthermore, allogeneic and xenogeneic valves showed a strong thrombogenicity which stained positive for von Willebrand factor outside endothelial cells on these valves. Integrin molecules as well as CD62 showed only mild differences.
Conclusion: Immunological reactions play a pivotal role in the degeneration of biological heart valve prostheses. As immunosuppressive therapy after heart valve replacement is not a viable option, novel approaches in 'tissue engineering' may help to avoid tissue degeneration while preserving the advantage of biological tissue origin.