Camouflage for Cardiovascular Stents
NUI Galway researcher to lead €1.2 million EU project on stent development
9th October, 2012: A new type of cardiovascular stent, coated in antibodies to improve
biocompatibility and effectiveness, is now under development in Ireland and Poland.
Scientists at National University of Ireland Galway have been awarded a €1.2 million EU
grant which aims to reduce re-narrowing of arteries and the need for further interventions,
through the development of novel cardiovascular stent materials.
NUI Galway’s Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB), a Science
Foundation Ireland funded strategic research cluster, and the Microbiology department will
head the four year project. This is the fifth successful EC funded grant that NFB has secured
in the last two years.
“About half of all deaths from cardiovascular diseases are due to coronary artery disease,
which occurs when the coronary arteries become hardened and narrowed due to the build-up
of plaques on their inner walls or lining” explains Dr Gerard Wall, leader of the consortium.
“This EU project brings together researchers from important medical device clusters in
Ireland and Poland, involved at all stages of the stent design and development pipeline, to
develop a novel product to reduce restenosis, which is one of the major current limitations of
stent performance.”
Coronary heart diseases, including myocardial infarction, are commonly triggered by the
build up of plaques in the inner walls of coronary arteries, leading to stenosis and reduced
blood flow to the heart. This is the most common cause of death in Europe, accounting for
approximately two million deaths each year.
This condition can be successfully treated by angioplasty to reopen blockages and the
insertion of a stent to keep arteries open. However, not all stents continue to perform
perfectly over time. Cells such as macrophages and smooth muscle cells can grow over the
stent surface and cause clot formation, once again clogging the arteries. While anti-clotting
drugs can be used, the risk of rejection, of the foreign stent material remains a problem.
“Our plan is to create a new type of coating on the stents using human antibody fragments,”
explains microbiologist Dr Gerard Wall who is leading the project. “Once the stent is in
place, we hope these antibodies will attract a layer of the patient’s own epithelial cells. This
should effectively camouflage the stent as far as the body is concerned, and it will no longer
be such a foreign object. Our theory is that this will reduce the potential for rejection, the
level of clot build-up, and also significantly improve the long-term outcome of surgical
interventions.”
The project, brings together of three academic partners National University of Ireland
Galway, and Poland’s Wrocław University of Technology and Wrocław Medical University.
These are joined by Vornia, a Galway-based start-up biomedical company and the multinational stent manufacturer Balton, which is headquarted in Poland).
The project is funded under the Marie Curie Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways
(IAPP) scheme of the EU’s FP7 2012 People Work Programme. The programme will provide
cross-sectoral research training, career development opportunities and knowledge sharing
pathways to 16 researchers, in addition to hosting networking and dissemination events open
to 30-40 additional researchers in the partner groups.
“The project is an excellent example of the importance of strong industry-academia
cooperation in the development of commercially viable products,” adds Dr Wall. “Both
university- and industry-based researchers will spend considerable time working in the
opposite work sector during the project as both sectors recognise that genuine partnership in
this manner is the best way to nurture creative research ideas into leading edge products that
have unmet clinical need.”
-ends-
Stent images, taken with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Left: SEM image of titania coated stent after crimping on the balloon. Right: SEM image of titania coated stent after expansion and removal of the balloon. Overview of Researcher movements in the proposed work programme. Academic partners are NUI Galway (co‐ordinator), Wrocław Medical University and Wrocław University of Technology (both Wrocław, Poland). Companies are Vornia Biomaterials (Galway) and Balton (Warsaw, Poland). Left: A blood vessel containing an unmodified stent (grey mesh), in which a blockage has re‐
occurred due to accumulation of cells and proteins. Right: In the proposed modified stent, antibodies tethered on the stent mediate attachment of “host” cells and prevent blockages. Dr Gerard Wall, Microbiology and Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB), who will lead the EU Consortium.