WCRC develops an ex vivo aortic valve model for testing aortic stenosis medications

Aortic stenosis is a cardiovascular disease characterised by narrowing of the outlet of the left ventricle in the area of the aortic valve. It is most commonly caused by long-term degenerative and dystrophic processes that lead to calcium deposits on the valves, reducing their elasticity and impairing their function.

Researchers at the Research Group of Molecular Mechanisms of Calcification, WCRC for Personalized Medicine, have developed a technology for the ex vivo culturing of human heart valves to test drugs capable of inhibiting the calcification process. This method of maintaining valve fragments allows the effect of drugs to be studied while preserving the integrity of the leaflet tissues, thus taking into account both the interactions of cell populations (including non-dividing ones) and the effect of the intercellular matrix. The study uses valve leaflets from patients with severe calcific aortic stenosis obtained after the valve replacement. The principle of the model is to place valve fragments in osteogenic medium with the addition of different doses of the studied drug under, with subsequent assessment of calcium accumulation by spectrophotometry.

Such experiments will make it possible to put into practice new approaches to testing anti-calcification medications that are closest to in vivo conditions.

30.09.2023