Long term preservation of arteries – immersion in anhydric sodium chlorid

Background: Arterial allografts have been largely replaced by artificial grafts.
However, in case of infection at the site of Teflon implantation or a-v fistula for haemodialysis, allografts became grafts of choice. A method for longterm preservation of arterial allografts is desperately needed. Aim: To establish a method of successful preservation of arteries for a long time with unchanged morphology and low allergenic reactivity.
Material/Methods: Fragments of rat aorta were preserved in anhydric NaCl
powder and stored at 4oC for 12 months and then transplanted for the next 10-12 months.
Results: Aorta-aorta and aorta-IVC grafts pulsated 12 months after transplantation. H/E and trichrome staining showed preserved anatomical structure. There was no thrombosis, only some thickening of neo-intima. No differences between preserved-transplanted and control-syngeneic aorta stained for CD31, CD54, RECA-1 were observed. Electron microscopy revealed normal structure of elastin fibres, appearance of fibroblasts between elastin bundles and single endothelial-like cells. There was only slight infiltration of ED1, OX6 and W3/13 cells around the allograft.
Conclusions: Preservation of transplanted aorta for 12 months with perfect
anatomical and molecular structure make conservation in pulverized NaCl a novel method to implement in case of arterial allografts as a-v shunts and
also in infected ischemic areas.

Keywords: composite tissue transplantation, Limb Transplantation