AL preincubation inhibits calcification of bioprosthetic heart valve tissue in the rat subdermal model.

To date, the clinical usefulness of bioprosthetic heart valves (BPV) fabricated from glutaraldehyde pretreated porcine aortic valves or bovine pericardium has been limited because leaflet calcification (CALC) leads to valvular stenosis and/or regurgitation and subsequent valve failure. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that preincubation of glutaraldehyde pretreated pericardial BPV leaflets in a solution containing the trivalent cation, AL , inhibits BPV calcification. BPV tissue was preincubated in 0.1 M ALCL3 for 24 hours (T = 25 degrees C), then subdermally implanted in rats (weanling, male, CD, Sprague-Dawley) for 21 days. Compared to the control group (tissue Ca++ = 143.81 +/- 25.49 micrograms/mg), calcification was markedly inhibited in the group pretreated with AL (tissue Ca++ = 4.1 +/- 1.03 micrograms/mg) after a 21 day implant. No adverse effects on rat growth or bone morphology were detected. It is concluded that the trivalent cation AL provided a marked anticalcification effect for BPV tissue implanted subdermally in the rat for 21 days.