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You are here: Contents > 2014 > Volume 23 Number 5 September 2014 > AORTIC VALVE DISEASE > A Novel In-Vitro Model of Human Aortic Valve Mineralization

A Novel In-Vitro Model of Human Aortic Valve Mineralization

Grzegorz Goncerz1, Krzysztof A. Tomaszewski1, Artur Pasternak1, Roman Głowacki2, Andrzej Wróbel3, Eugeniusz Rokita3, Piotr Podolec4

1Department of Anatomy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, 2Ludwik Rydygier Specialistic Hospital, Krakow, 3Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, 4Department of Cardiac and Vascular Diseases, Institute of Cardiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, John Paul II Hospital, Krakow, Poland

Background and aim of the study: The study aim was to develop an in-vitro model of human aortic valve homograft (AVH) mineralization, as a basis for further research on the subject of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD).

Methods: Human aortic valves were excised during autopsy (12-24 h post-mortem) from donors who had died due to accident or suicide. The mean (±SD) donor age was 32.5 ± 11.4 years. Under sterile conditions each aortic cusp (three cusps per valve) was cut in half to provide a total of 240 tissue samples. AVH mineralization was assessed in solutions with different Ca and P concentrations and Ca×PO4 ionic product values.

The impact of time on aortic valve mineralization rate was assessed using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF).

Results: The model showed that human AVH mineralization can be best observed in a solution with a Ca×PO4 ionic product of 2.2 mmol2/l2. The optimum incubation time for observing AVH mineralization was 21 days.

Conclusion: A novel in-vitro AVH mineralization model was developed for use in future studies.

The Journal of Heart Valve Disease 2014;23:545-549
A Novel In-Vitro Model of Human Aortic Valve Mineralization

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