Bioactive 3D-Printed valve scaffold promoting valvular regeneration via immunomodulation and endothelialization

The in vivo performance of tissue-engineered heart valves remains constrained by a persistent early failure triad at the blood-material interface, namely thrombosis, unresolved inflammation, and slow endothelialization. Here, a bioinstructive multilayer valve scaffold is engineered to address these interfacial barriers through spatially integrated structural and biological functions. The scaffold comprises a digitally programmable 3D-printed framework, a silk fibroin wrapping layer, and a hydrogel biointerface incorporating Arg-Gly-Asp/GelMA adhesive cues together with H 2 S-releasing microgels. This layered design endows the construct with valve-relevant tensile properties while simultaneously programming the immune-endothelial microenvironment. The hydrogel biointerface promotes endothelial migration, proliferation, and angiogenic activity, whereas sustained H 2 S delivery biases macrophages toward a pro-resolving M2-like phenotype and suppresses inflammatory activation. Transcriptomic analysis further reveals coordinated upregulation of endothelial programs related to endothelial repair, migration, and proliferation, accompanied by attenuation of stress- and inflammation-associated responses. In vivo , the scaffold mitigates thromboinflammatory reactions, shows preliminary anti-calcification performance, and supports endothelialization under blood-contacting conditions. Together, this work establishes a layered bioactive engineering approach that converts a passive 3D-printed structural scaffold into a regenerative, hemocompatible, and immunoregulatory biofunctional valve scaffold. This strategy offers a promising design principle for the further development of regenerative valve scaffolds.

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Publication Details

Journal
Bioactive Materials
Published
2026-07-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.07.021
Primary Topic
Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications
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article
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article

Bioactive 3D-Printed valve scaffold promoting valvular regeneration via immunomodulation and endothelialization

Jiahui She, Linlin Guo, Jianglin Wang, Weihua Qiao et al.
Bioactive Materials
Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications
article

Bioactive 3D-Printed valve scaffold promoting valvular regeneration via immunomodulation and endothelialization

Jiahui She, Linlin Guo, Jianglin Wang, Weihua Qiao, Renyuan Sun, Nianguo Dong, Hongjun Yang, Xianzhen Dong, Zhiqiang Luo, Wenliang Liu, Jiawei Shi, Chao Xu, Shuyu Wen, Kun Yang, Chuan Gao
article en

Abstract

The in vivo performance of tissue-engineered heart valves remains constrained by a persistent early failure triad at the blood-material interface, namely thrombosis, unresolved inflammation, and slow endothelialization. Here, a bioinstructive multilayer valve scaffold is engineered to address these interfacial barriers through spatially integrated structural and biological functions. The scaffold comprises a digitally programmable 3D-printed framework, a silk fibroin wrapping layer, and a hydrogel biointerface incorporating Arg-Gly-Asp/GelMA adhesive cues together with H 2 S-releasing microgels. This layered design endows the construct with valve-relevant tensile properties while simultaneously programming the immune-endothelial microenvironment. The hydrogel biointerface promotes endothelial migration, proliferation, and angiogenic activity, whereas sustained H 2 S delivery biases macrophages toward a pro-resolving M2-like phenotype and suppresses inflammatory activation. Transcriptomic analysis further reveals coordinated upregulation of endothelial programs related to endothelial repair, migration, and proliferation, accompanied by attenuation of stress- and inflammation-associated responses. In vivo , the scaffold mitigates thromboinflammatory reactions, shows preliminary anti-calcification performance, and supports endothelialization under blood-contacting conditions. Together, this work establishes a layered bioactive engineering approach that converts a passive 3D-printed structural scaffold into a regenerative, hemocompatible, and immunoregulatory biofunctional valve scaffold. This strategy offers a promising design principle for the further development of regenerative valve scaffolds.

Bioactive MaterialsVol. 66
Union Hospital (HK), Wuhan Textile University (CN), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications
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